HN 

80 


UC-NRLF 


3    13D    343 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  KANSAS 


Vol.  XX 


June  15,  1919 


No.  12 


SOCIAL  SURVEY  SERIES,  Nol  5     \  F'EB  1  3  1936 


ARMOURDALE 

A  City  Within  a  City 


\/. 


UNIVERSITY   EXTENSION  DIVISION 

UNIVERSITY  OF  KANSAS 

LAWRENCE,  19i;) 


Rntprpfl  ns  seoond-rlnaa  mnftor  December  29,  1910,  nt  the  p 
under  act  ot  July  10,  1804 


[.awn-iu-p.    K: 


BULLETIN  OF  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  KANSAS 

Vol.  XX  June  15,  1919  No.  12 


ARMOURDALE 

A  City  Within  a  City 


THE  REPORT  OF  A  SOCIAL  SURVEY  OF  ARMOURDALE 

A  COMMUNITY  OF  12,000  PEOPLE  LIVING 

IN  THE  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRICT  OF 

KANSAS  CITY,  KANSAS 


Manuel  C.  Elmer,  Director  of  S^irvey 

Associate  Professor  of  Sociology,  University  of  Kansas 


Field  Workers 

Members  of  the  Classes  in  Social  Surveys 

and  Community  Organization  of  the 

Department  of  Sociology,  University  of  Kansas 

1919  if 


KANSAS   STATE   PRINTING    PLANT 

IMRI    ZITMWALT,  State    Printer 

TOPEKA.      1919 

8-1093 


Digitized  by  tine  Internet  Archive 

in  2008  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/armourdalecitywiOOunivrich 


?^ 


(^ 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Foreword 5 

History  of  Armourdale 7 

Population IG 

The  Government 18 

Public  Utilities 20 

Health  and  Sanitation 28 

Housing 33 

Food  Inspection 36 

Methods  of  Handling  Milk 40 

Industry  and  Labor 42 

Legal  Restrictions  and  Regulations 49 

Recreation 59 

Clubs  and  Societies 70 

Education 74 

Remedial  and  Corrective  Agencies 81 

Religious  Activities 86 

Conclusions 90 


920280 


PERSONS  PARTICIPATING  IN  THE  SURVEY. 


R.  H.  Albach 
Angeline  J.  Alexander 
Eleanor  Atkinson 
Edith   Banks* 
Martha  Banker 
Laura  Bell 
Lucile  Bomgardner* 
Lois  Burke 
Erma  Brunette 
Mary  Brunette* 
June  Caffrey* 
Lilah  Canavan 
Lida  Campbell* 
Merrill  Cissell 
B.  F.  Chambers 
Kathleen  Carnie* 
Esther  Cooper 
Dorothy  Cole* 
Ima  Cole 
Kathleen  Davis 
Mildred  Deets* 
A.  Q.  Decker 
Martha  De  Wald 
Ruth  Darland 
E.  A.  Elliott 
Dempsey  Elliot 
M.  A.  Etzenhouser 
Margaret  Fairchild* 
Emily  Ferris* 
M.  A.  Fite* 
Irene  Fowden* 
Helen  Forbes* 
Annette  Fugate* 
Eunice  Furney 
Katherine  Fulkerson 
Mary  Fronk 
Cornelius  Foster 
Lois  Greenlees 
Elsie  Grant* 
Edyth  Gould 
Ethlyn  Green 
Jean  Haines 
E.  C.  Hale 
Royal  G.  Hall 
A.  J.  Hay 
R.  P.  Hemphill 


Nellie  Hohn* 
Lucile  Hovey* 
Lois  Hunt 
Dresden  Hunter 
Doloris  Keeling* 
Julia  Kennedy* 
Muriel  Klepinger* 
O.  J.  Lane 
Mary  E.  Larson* 
Irma  Leon 
Mary  E.  McGaffey 
Fanny  McCall* 
Carrol  McDowell 
Estella  McCafferty 
Margaret  Melville* 
Alma  Messing* 
Helen  Naismith 
Mable  Nixon 
Mariva  Parkingson* 
Warren    Pearson 
Edwina  Peckham 
Clara  Pittman 
Edith  Phenicie 
Jessie  Rankin* 
Olive  Reynolds* 
Hattie  Rinehart 
Dorothy  Sandberg 
Rose  Segelbaum* 
Pardaman  Singh 
Bert  Smith* 
C.  A.  Schlotterback* 
C.  K.  Schofstall 
Ellis  L.  Starett* 
Gladys  Swiegart* 
Ethel  Schaible 
N.  F.  Shaw 
Orva  Solt 
Vivian  Sturgeon 
Edith  Symns 
J.  Godfrey  Stutz* 
Lulu  Walling 
Mrs.  M.  R.  Wheeler 
Neil  M.  Wherry* 
Edith  Witcher 
Myrtle  M.  Young 


Those  wlio  (lid  special  work  in  securing  data  and  field   work. 

(4) 


FOREWORD. 


This  study  was  made  at  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Wilson  of  the 
Kansas  City  Chamber  of  Commerce.  He  very  kindly  offered 
the  use  of  some  valuable  data  which  the  Chamber  of  Com- 
merce had  gathered  and  which  was  found  to  be  of  very  great 
service  in  preparing  this  report.  Reverend  Brown,  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Armourdale,  likewise  fur- 
nished some  very  valuable  data  and  many  of  the  pictures  in- 
cluded in  this  report.  The  house  to  house  canvas  was  made  by 
students  in  the  class  in  social  survey,  and  the  study  of  specific 
problems  was  made  by  the  class  in  community  organizations, 
in  the  spring  of  1919.  Members  of  the  class  during  the  sum- 
mer session,  helped  in  compiling  the  data  secured.  Officials 
and  persons  in  charge  of  various  lines  of  work  which  effect 
the  activities  of  the  people  in  Armourdale  were  very  kind  and 
helped  and  have  made  this  study  possible. 

Manuel  C.  Elmer. 
(5) 


SHAWNEE   PARK. 


HISTORY  OF  ARMOURDALE,  KANSAS. 

ARMOURDALE  is  a  district  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  situated 
on  the  north  bank  of  the  Kansas  river  about  a  mile  south 
of  its  junction  with  the  Missouri  river.  Its  total  population 
numbers  12,825. 

As  the  town  is  an  integral  part  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  and 
as  the  history  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  is  intimately  associated 
with  the  history  of  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  it  will  be  necessary,  in 
the  first  place,  to  sketch  briefly  the  history  of  these  great  and 
growing  cities  of  the  Middle  West. 

Kansas  City,  Mo.,  was  founded  in  1800  by  several  French 
families  who  came  to  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river  from  the 
French  village  of  St.  Charles.  The  settlement  began  to  grow 
and  take  on  new  life  after  1820  because  of  the  strong  tide  of 
emigration  from  Kentucky,  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 
Westport  was  established  in  1833  as  a  trading  point  in  the 
state  from  the  Indians  west  of  the  border.  In  the  early  forties 
the  steamboat  trade  and  the  Mexican  trade  over  the  Santa  Fe 
trail  amounted  approximately  to  $5,000,000  a  year.  At  first 
Independence  and  Westport  were  rivals  of  Kansas  City,  but 
the  superiority  of  the  landing  soon  became  recognized  and  the 
establishment  of  a  new  city  in  a  short  time  became  an  assured 
fact.  The  depression  caused  by  the  war  was  partially  re- 
moved by  the  protection  given  by  the  government  to  Santa  Fe 
traders,  and  business  boomed  at  once.  As  a  result  of  this 
government  protection  and  new  business  prosperity,  in  1867, 
the  Hannibal  and  St.  Joseph  bridge  was  built  at  Kansas  City, 
Mo.,  an  enterprise  in  which  she  was  victorious  over  her  rival, 
Leavenworth.  Wyandotte  and  Quindaro,  having  recovered 
sufficiently  from  the  border  strife,  began  to  take  on  a  new 
growth,  and  new  towns  started  up  in  the  Kansas  river  valley. 

Kansas  City,  Kan.,  began  to  sound  its  pregnant  note  of 
existence  about  this  time.  The  town  was  laid  in  1857,  and  in 
1868  the  Kansas  City  Town  Company  was  formed  and  later 
lots  were  sold.  In  October,  1872,  the  city  of  Kansas  City,  Kan,, 
was  incorporated  and  in  1881  the  governor  of  the  state  pro- 
claimed it  a  municipality  of  the  second  class.  In  1875  a  move- 
ment among  the  citizens  of  Kansas  was  begun  for  the  building 

(7) 


8  Bulletin  of  the   University  of  Kansas. 

of  a  great  city  on  their  side  of  the  river,  and  delegates  came 
from  all  over  the  state  to  sanction  this  attempt.  It  was  con- 
tended that  the  reasons  for  such  a  center  were  that  the  rail- 
roads which  spread  all  over  Kansas  started  from  Kansas  City, 
Kan.,  that  the  mass  of  trade  would  follow  these  railroads  down 
to  the  wealth  of  the  Kansas  river,  and  then  would  be  sent  on 
to  Chicago  or  St.  Louis,  since  all  eastern  railroads  have  con- 
nections at  this  point, 

Armourdale  was  laid  out  in  June,  1880,  by  the  Kaw  Valley 
Town  Site  and  Bridge  Company,  which  was  composed  of  Bos- 
ton capitalists.  The  company  owned  a  tract  of  land  not  in- 
cluded in  the  town  site,  which  they  sold  for  manufacturing 
purposes.  The  town  was  named  after  Armours,  the  great 
Chicago  packers.  In  the  spring  of  1882  it  had  a  sufficient 
population  to  be  incorporated,  and  in  1883  the  street  railway 
was  extended  to  connect  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  Kansas  City,  Kan., 
Armourdale  and  Wyandotte,  thus  making  the  towns  practi- 
cally one  as  far  as  transportation  and  business  interests  were 
concerned.  The  year  1886  marks  the  end  of  Armourdale  and 
Wyandotte  as  separate  municipalities,  as  it  was  in  this  year 
that  both  are  incorporated  into  Kansas  City,  Kan.  In  1910 
Argentine  became  a  part  of  the  new  city,  and  later  Quindaro, 
Midland  Park  and  Chelsea  Park  were  added. 

Kansas  City  is  one  of  the  greatest  manufacturing  centers 
of  the  Middle  West.  It  ranks  second  only  to  Chicago  in  the 
meat-packing  industry.  There  are  all  sorts  of  industries  in 
the  city — stockyards,  slaughterhouses,  meat-packing  plants, 
grain  and  flour  mills,  soap  factories,  barrel  and  box  factories, 
structural  steel,  railroad  iron,  car  wheels,  scales,  foundry 
products,  implements,  cement,  oil  refineries,  zinc  and  chemical 
companies,  baking  company,  ice,  and  tent  and  awning  manu- 
factories. In  Armourdale  alone  there  are  29  factories:  Sin- 
clair Oil  Co.,  Ismert-Hinke  Milling  Co.,  Austos  Milling  Co., 
Proctor  and  Gamble  Soap  Co.,  Butte  Milling  Co.,  Southwestern 
Milling  Co.,  Badger  Lumber  Co.,  Silicia  Plant,  Rock  Island 
shops,  Gun  Stock  factory,  Baska  'Wet  Wash  Laundry,  Clip- 
pinger  Manufacturing  Co.,  Union  Pacific  shops.  Standard  Oil 
Co.,  Morris  and  Co.,  Kelley  Cooperage  Co.,  Ruddy  Packing  Co., 
Uncle  Sam  Oil  refinery,  Peet  Bros.  Soap  Co.,  Griflfin  Wheel 
Works,  Santa  Fe  terminal  shops,  Rock  Island  elevator,  Alpine 
Ice  Co.,  Wilson  Packing  Co.,  Swift  and  Co.,  Kansas  City  Fiber 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  9 

Box  Co.,  Cudahy  Packing  Co.,  Kansas  City  Soap  Co.,  and 
N.  A.  Kennedy  Supply  Co. 

Natural  resources  have  also  played  no  small  part  in  the 
development  and  progress  of  Kansas  City.  There  are  four 
types  of  soil  found  in  the  district — clay  loam  which  produces 
wheat,  sandy  soil  which  produces  vegetables,  loess  on  which 
alfalfa  can  be  raised,  and  alluvium  which  yields  vegetables 
and  fruits.  Limestone  is  found  in  the  vicinity  for  making 
Portland  cement  and  for  building  purposes.  The  Quindaro 
water  works  pumps  from  the  Missouri  river,  and  in  1909  the 
city  bought  the  Metropolitan  Water  Works.  The  natural 
drainage  is  south  to  the  Kaw  river  by  several  creeks,  the 
largest  of  which  is  Jersey  creek.  Kansas  City  has  many 
natural  scenic  advantages,  which  include  an  one  hundred  acre 
city  park,  bluifs  and  rivers.  One  very  advantageous  and  com- 
mendable feature  is  that  there  is  no  monopoly  on  these  natural 
resources. 

Armourdale,  as  a  portion  of  this  large  metropolis,  has  had 
a  very  uncheckered  career  since  its  corporation  with  Kansas 
City,  Kan.,  in  1886,  with  the  exception  of  the  flood  of  1903, 
which  damaged  all  Kansas  City  to  the  extent  of  $34,000,000, 
and  hindered  the  growth  of  Armourdale  particularly.  After 
the  flood  the  city  spent  millions  of  dollars  to  widen  the  river 
channel  and  build  dikes,  $1,750,000  of  which  was  spent  on  the 
Armourdale  dikes.  This  system  of  dikes,  when  properly  man- 
aged and  taken  care  of,  affords  ample  protection  to  the  town 
in  flood  times.  The  general  character  of  the  district  is  resi- 
dential in  spite  of  the  fact  that  a  great  deal  of  land  in  the 
beginning  was  sold  for  manufacturing  purposes  and  that  there 
are  29  factories  in  the  district.  Armourdale  is  bounded  on 
three  sides  by  the  river  and  on  the  north  by  the  Rock  Island 
and  Union  Pacific  railroads.  The  factories  and  industrial 
plants  follow  the  river  and  railroads,  and  thus  form  a  ring  of 
industrial  plants  around  Armourdale  which  is  distinctly  a  resi- 
dential community.  Most  of  the  people  are  dependent  in  some 
way  upon  these  industries,,  although  thousands  of  workers 
from  other  parts  of  Kansas  City  work  in  Armourdale  indus- 
tries.   Armourdale  is  a  "city  within  a  city." 


10  Bulletin  of  the  U7iiversity  of  Kansas. 

POPULATION. 

DISTRIBUTION   AND  DENSITY   OF   POPULATION. 

Armourdale  is  a  unit  within  a  city,  which  is  in  turn  a  part 
of  a  greater  city.  If  it  were  not  for  this  fact  it  might  itself 
be  a  city  with  its  12,825  people,  nearly  one-seventh  of  the 
population  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.  But  because  of  its  terri- 
torial restrictions,  it  is  on  the  whole  much  more  thickly 
peopled,  as  these  figures  show: 

Pojiiilation .  Pnpulatioti 

Cifi/.  191S.  j-t'f  Arre. 

Kansas  City,   Kan 93,122  8 .  31 

Armourdale    12,825  13 . 9 

However,  the  greatest  area  of  congestion  in  Kansas  City  is 
not  in  Armourdale  but  farther  north,  where  the  27  blocks 
west  of  the  Missouri  river,  and  within  the  streets  Reynolds, 
Seventh,  and  Ann,  there  lived  in  1915,  5,175  people.  Still 
there  is  one  block  in  Armourdale,  the  one  within  Kansas 
avenue  and  Twelfth,  Scott,  and  Valley  streets,  where  there 
were  250  people  living  at  the  time  of  the  survey.  The  areas 
of  congestion  lie  in  the  blocks  running  north  and  west  between 
Osage  and  Miami.  The  few  negroes  living  in  Armourdale  are 
grouped  north  of  Kansas  avenue  and  east  of  Fifth  street,  and 
south  of  Miami  and  east  of  St.  Paul  street.  The  conditions 
arising  from  these  facts  of  congestion  will  be  discussed  in  a 
later  section. 

Statistics  were  gathered  from  1,400  families  in  regard  to 
their  length  of  residence  in  Armourdale.  The  answers  given 
ranged  from,  "Long  enough  to  get  a  shoe  shine"  to  "Ever 
since  Armourdale  began."  Nevertheless,  interesting  and  sig- 
nificant facts  may  be  gained  from  their  study.  Only  about 
one-half  of  the  families  reported,  but  these  1,400  may  be  con- 
sidered a  fair  sample.  And  the  things  that  are  true  of  them 
will  be  true  proportionally  of  the  whole. 

LARGE  PART  OF  POPULATION  SHIFTING. 

Over  fifteen  percent  have  lived  in  Armourdale  less  than  a 
year,  one-third  less  than  three  years,  while  over  one-third 
have  lived  there  10  years  or  more.  It  is  small  wonder  that 
this  transient  population  takes  little  interest  in  civic  improve- 
ment. But  better  living  and  working  conditions  would  keep 
these  people  in  Armourdale  for  a  longer  residence. 

In  the  table  given  below  the  figures  are  but  relatively  true 
after  the  eighth  year,  as  will  be  noted.     This  is  due  to  the 


Armour  dale — A  City  Within  a  City.  11 

tendency  of  the  people  to  give  their  length  of  residence  in 
round  numbers ;  that  is,  in  multiples  of  five.  Note  how  few- 
give  29  years  as  compared  with  the  number  giving  30. 

TABLE  SHOWING  LENGTH   OF  RESIDENCE  OF   1,400   FAMILIES   IN   ARMOURDALE. 

Tears  No.  Years  Nn. 

residence.  families.       residence.  families. 

Under  1 222     22  13 

23  11 

24  9 

25  36 

26  23 

27  8 

28  8 

29  4 

30  36 

31  6 

32  10 

33  8 

34  2 

35  17 

36  3 

37  

38  

39  

40  4 

41  

42  1 


1 

2 

135 

115 

3  

91 

4  

62 

5       .... 

56 

6  

53 

7  

48 

8  

45 

9  

22 

10  

53 

11 

19 

12  

38 

13  

16 

14  

22 

15  

42 

16  

28 

17  

13 

18  

32 

19  

13 

20  

54 

21  

22 

Total 1,400 

Armourdale's  population  is  increasing  at  a  very  common- 
place rate.  From  1910  to  1918  the  percentage  of  growth  was 
18.6 ;  while  in  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  as  a  whole,  it  was  still  less, 
13.1.  There  are  no  separate  figures  for  Armourdale  previous 
to  1910.  But  the  growth  of  Kansas  City  may  be  traced  back 
to  1880,  where  we  note  a  phenomenal  increase  during  the  en- 
suing ten-year  period,  exceeded  only  in  the  United  States  by 
that  of  Everett,  Wash.    Note  the  table  below : 

TABLE    SHOWING    POPULATION    AND    GROWTH    OF    KANSAS    CITY 

AND    ARMOURDALE 

KanJias  City,  Percent  Percent 

Date.  Kan.  t/roirth.  Arinovrdolr.  growth. 

1880 3,200       

1890 38,316  1,097 .4      

1900 51,418  34.2      

1910 82,331  60.1  10,812 

1918 93,121  13.1  12,825      18 

NINETY  PERCENT  NATIVE   AMERICANS. 

The  population  of  Armourdale  has  been  increasing,  due  to 
the  development  of  industries  incident  to  the  Great  War  and 
on  account  of  the  comparatively  low  rents.  On  the  other  hand 
is  the  outstanding  fact  that  more  people  come  from  outside 


12 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


this  district  to  work  in  its  factories  than  it  itself  furnishes. 
This  is  without  doubt  due  to  the  congestion.  Contrary  to 
common  belief,  foreign  immigration  seems  to  be  a  small  factor 
in  growth.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  90  percent  of  the  inhabitants 
are  native  born ;  only  wards  three  and  seven  in  Kansas  City 
have  a  higher  percentage. 

Notwithstanding  the  large  number  of  deaths  resulting  from 
the  "flu"  epidemic  and  from  pneumonia  developments,  the 
number  of  births  in  1918  slightly  exceeded  the  number  of 
deaths.     (See  table  4.) 

Because  of  the  development  of  factories  within  the  borders, 
Armourdale  is  peopled   almost   exclusively  by   an   industrial 


'J'lIK    HOPE   OF  KANSAS.      GIVE   THEM   THE   BEST. 

class  of  people.  These  people  are  simply  sandwiched  in  be- 
tween the  river  on  one  side  and  the  railroad  tracks  on  the 
other.  The  excess  of  factories  and  the  resulting  high  rents 
in  the  southeast  part  of  the  district  tends  to  throw  the  popula- 
tion toward  the  north  and  west.  But  after  all,  Armourdale  is 
much  the  same  throughout. 

The  statistics  for  births  and  deaths  gathered  in  the  survey 
proper  were  incomplete,  but  for  the  families  reporting  show 
137  births  and  123  deaths  for  1918,  On  account  of  the  shifting 
population,  as  shown  above,  the  city  depends  not  upon  births 
primarily  but  upon  the  influx  of  new  citizens  for  its  size. 
Hence  our  attention  was  turned  to  a  more  careful  considera- 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  CiUj. 


13 


tion  of  the  deaths.  The  statistics  given  in  tables  4  and  5 
were  secured  from  the  State  Vital  Statistics  Department  at 
Topeka. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  death  rate  of  Armourdale  is 
slightly  greater  than  that  for  Kansas  City.  There  are,  how- 
ever, three  other  facts  of  greater  significance  to  be  obtained 
from  the  first  table.  Note  the  very  excessive  death  rate  from 
pneumonia.  Since  influenza  was  the  contributing  cause  for 
perhaps  one-half  of  the  pneumonia  deaths,  let  us  combine  the 
rates.  The  results  are :  Kansas  City,  822.5 ;  Armourdale, 
990.2.  Here  is  a  difference  great  enough  to  give  us  some 
concern.  Why  did  more  deaths  result  from  these  two  in 
Armourdale  than  in  Kansas  City  proper?    The  answer  is  not 


A    MUCH   USED   ALLEY. 


far  to  seek.  Improper  home  conditions ;  lack  of  medical  care 
— and  the  "flu"  case  too  often  developed  into  the  deadly  pneu- 
monia. 

There  are  many  other  variations,  but  the  two,  diseases  of 
early  infancy  and  the  puerperal  state,  being  excessive,  may 
well  be  studied.  Combining  them,  the  respective  rates  for 
Kansas  City  and  Armourdale  are:  101.9  and  226.1.  Or  tak- 
ing data  from  table  5,  the  infant  mortality  (under  two  years 
old)  for  the  two  cities  is  4.2  and  5.9  per  one  hundred.  The 
causes  for  these  facts  may  be  found  in  the  living  conditions 
and  the  lack  of  education  among  the  mothers. 


14 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


The  fact  that  the  figures  for  both  homicide  and  suicide,  and 
syphihs  favor  Armourdale,  is  highly  complimentary  to  that 
section  of  the  city.  It  shows  that  the  people  there  are  cer- 
tainly not  morally  degenerate. 


TABLE  4. 

TABLE  SHOWING  DEATHS  IN  KANSAS  CITY,  KAN.,  AND  ARMOURDALE  IN  1918. 
(Ijisted  according  to  the  most  common  diseases.) 


Dviease. 

Pneumonia    

Influenza     

Tuberculosis     

Diseases  of  the  heart. 


-Kansas  City,  Kan.- 

Rate  per 
\o.  deaths.      100.000. 


...  503 
...  263 
...  135 
...       129 

Bright's   disease    123 

93 
90 
86 
80 
70 
38 
32 
25 
24 
24 
23 
22 
20 
...   305 


Apoplexy 

Accident    

Cancer     

Intestinal  diseases    

Diseases  of  early  infancy.  .  . 

Homicide  and  suicide 

Measles   

Puerperal  state   (childbirth) 

Senility    (old  age) 

Appendicitis     

Syphilis 

Typhoid  fever    

Meningitis     

All  others 


Total     2,085 

Eate   per   1,000 22. 


540.1 

282.4 

144.8 

138.5 

132.1 

99.8 

96.6 

92.3 

85.9 

75.1 

40.8 

35.4 

26.8 

25.7 

25.7 

24.6 

23.5 

21.4 


r-A  rmo  u  rdale.—^ 

Rate  per 
\o.  deiith-i.       100.000. 


106 

21 

10 

21 

4 

6 

11 

7 

19 

23 

4 

1 

6 

5 

1 

0 

0 

5 

49 


299 
23.3 


826.5 

163.7 

77.9 

163.7 

31.2 

46.8 

85.7 

54.5 

148.2 

179.3 

31.2 

7.8 

46.8 

38.9 

7.8 

0.0 

0.0 

38.9 


TABLE  5. 

TABLE  SHOWING  DEATHS  IN  KANSAS  CITY,  KAN.,  AND  ARMOURDALE  IN  1918. 
(Listed  according  to  the  age  and  sex  of  the  deceased.) 


Af/e. 

Under  1 

1-  2 

3-  4 

5-  9 

10-14 

15-19 

20-24 

25-29 

30-34 

35-39 

40-44 

45-49 

50-59 

60-69 

70-79 

80-89 

90-99 

Totals 1,169 


r-1 

Kansas C 

'Jity,  Kai 

1.-^  r- 

Armourdale.— ^ 

Male. 

Female. 

Total. 

Male. 

Female. 

Total. 

142 

119 

261 

28 

27 

55 

77 

60 

137 

13 

8 

21 

23 

22 

45 

5 

7 

12 

34 

46 

80 

8 

15 

22 

22 

23 

45 

3 

5 

8 

64 

36 

100 

8 

4 

12 

46 

56 

102 

10 

8 

18 

83 

86 

169 

9 

22 

31 

83 

60 

143 

6 

5 

11 

92 

56 

148 

14 

6 

20 

59 

43 

102 

2 

4 

6 

60 

33 

93 

6 

4 

10 

128 

81 

209 

15 

9 

24 

123 

87 

210 

9 

10 

19 

90 

61 

151 

6 

6 

12 

40 

40 

80 

10 

6 

16 

3 

7 

10 

0 

2 

2 

916      2,085         151 


148 


299 


Armourdale — A  City  Withm  a  City.  15 

Especially  noticeable  is  the  fact  in  the  above  table  that  25 
percent  of  the  deaths  in  Kansas  City  as  a  whole,  including 
Armourdale,  are  of  children  under  ten  years  of  age.  In  Ar- 
mourdale alone,  thirty-six  percent  of  the  deaths  tvere  of  chil- 
dren under  ten  years  of  age. 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  FOREIGN  POPULATION  OP  KANSAS  CITY,  KAN. 
Couiitrii.  1910.  1915. 

Austria     2,993 

Belgium    152  .... 

Canada 368  344 

Denmark   and   Sweden 1,018  9276 

England     668  605a 

Germany    1,853  1,625 

Greece     210  .... 

Hungary     274  .... 

Ireland    1,054  880 

Russia    995  1,915 

Scotland   135  117 

Switzerland   102  .... 

Mexico    102  465 

Italy    272 

France    47 

Spain 4 

Other  foreign  countries 460 

Total    10,384         7,201 

a.  Enerland  and  Wales. 

b.  Sweden,   Norway  and  Denmark. 

The  1910  report  was  obtained  from  the  national  census.  The 
1915  statistics  are  from  the  report  of  State  Board  of  Agri- 
culture, which  gives  none  for  Austria  Hungary,  Belgium  and 
Greece,  while  the  national  census  gives  none  for  Italy,  France 
and  Spain.  The  latter  may  be  included  in  some  others  or  else 
omitted. 

The  total  population  in  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  in  1910  was 
82,331.  In  1915,  91,685.  These  statistics  are  not  complete, 
but  taking  that  fact  into  account  and  interpreting  the  sta- 
tistics, it  is  very  significant  that  in  1910  the  foreign  popula- 
tion in  Kansas  City  is  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  entire 
population.    In  1915  the  percentage  is  still  lower. 

The  state  report  gives  the  following  not  included  in  the  above 
table:  Colored,  including  Chinese  and  Indians,  9,675;  others 
north  of  Europe,  206 ;  others  south  of  Europe,  4,991. 


16 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


ARMOURDALE    HAS   SMALL   FOREIGN-BORN    POPULATION. 

TABLE  SHOWING  THE  FOREIGN  BORN  IN  ARMOURDALE,   NATURALIZED  AND 

UNNATURALIZED. 

Coinifrii.  Naturalized.      Unnaturalized.         Total. 

Ireland    '. : 153  38  191 

Russia     10  154  164 

Mexico    22  320  342 

England   34  19  53 

Wales    7  ...  7 

Norway    5  ...  5 

Belgium    10  10 

Canada 13  ...  13 

Bulgaria     10  10 

France    3  3 

Serbia     5  5 

China   1  2  3 

Turkey    1  ...  1 

Rumania     .    1  1 

Germany    93  43  136 

Greece    2  218  220 

Italy    17  39  56 

Hungary    1  2  3 

Switzerland   5  ...  5 

Denmark    11  1  12 

Sweden     8  ...  8 

Austria     3  ...  3 

Scotland   9  ...  9 

Total    396  853  1,249 


— I-.-. 


VIADUCT   AND   PACKING   PLANTS. 


The  total  population  of  Armourdale  is  12,825.  From  the 
statistics  just  given  it  shows  the  population  of  Armourdale  is 
from  10  to  12  percent  foreign  born,  or  the  population  may  be 
summed  up:    Native  born,  90  percent,  of  which  only  about  3 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


17 


percent  are  Negro;  and  having  foreign  or  mixed  parents,  10 
percent;  foreign  born,  10  percent. 

The  figures  just  given  on  Armourdale  were  obtained  by  the 
survey  made  by  the  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  Chamber  of  Commerce 
in  1918.  This  shows  that  in  1918  about  34  percent  of  the 
foreign  population  of  Armourdale  are  naturalized.  The  1910 
census  report  shows  that  of  the  foreigners  of  voting  age  48 
percent  are  naturalized.  The  same  report  shows  that  out  of 
the  seven  wards  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  wards  one,  two,  four 
and  five  have  a  higher  percent  of  foreign  born  than  Ar- 
mourdale. 


OSAGE   AVENUE. 


SUMMARY. 

Armourdale  is  a  community  which  is  having  a  steady 
growth.  The  growth  is  due,  not  so  much  to  births  over  deaths, 
which  is  small,  as  to  the  influx  of  peoples  from  the  outside. 
The  foreign  population  is  very  small,  approximately  90  percent 
being  native  born,  and  of  the  foreign  born,  about  two-thirds 
are  naturalized.  Consequently  any  problems  found  in  the  com- 
munity are  primarily  American  problems,  and  cannot  be  an- 
swered with  the  general  statement  that  the  conditions  are  due 
to  the  foreigners. 

2 — K.  U.  Bui. — 109:^. 


18  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


THE  GOVERNMENT. 

ARMOURDALE  community  is  known  as  the  sixth  ward.  It 
is  a  part  of  the  political  unit,  Kansas  City,  and  has  a  gen- 
eral charter.  A  change  was  made  nine  years  ago  and  the 
commission  form  of  government  was  adopted.  The  require- 
ments for  suffrage  are  that  a  person  must  be  a  legal  voter  of 
Kansas.  The  largest  number  of  voters  polled  by  any  one 
nationality  is  polled  by  the  American  born,  since  they  consti- 
tute practically  the  entire  population. 

The  chief  political  parties  are  republican  and  democrat  and 
are  very  evenly  divided.  It  is  said  that  80  percent  of  all  the 
foreigners  are  democrats.  There  is  a  small  number  of  adher- 
ents to  the  socialist  party  but  their  influence  is  comparatively 
small.  The  number  of  naturalized  citizens  who  voted  at  the 
last  national  election  was  3,389. 

LOCAL  POLITICAL  ORGANIZATION. 

Local  elections  are  held  each  year  on  the  first  Tuesday  in 
April.  As  has  been  said  before,  there  is  the  commission  form 
of  government  with  five  elective  officers  who  are  elected  at 
large.    These  elective  officers  are : 

1.  Mayor. 

2.  Commissioner  of  water  works  plus  electric  light. 

3.  Commissioner  of  parks  and  public  property. 

4.  Commissioner  of  finance  and  revenue. 

5.  Commissioner  of  streets  and  public  improvements. 

The  departments  in  the  local  government  are: 

1.  Street  department. 

2.  Sanitary  department. 

3.  Park  department. 

4.  Fire  department. 

5.  Police  department. 

6.  Water  and  light  department. 

7.  Finance. 

8.  Public  buildings  and  grounds. 

The  council  is  composed  of  three  working  men  and  two  busi- 
ness men,  and  there  are  no  lawyers  or  any  officials  represent- 
ing special  interests. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 
TAXES. 


19 


The  tax  rate  is  77.5  per  $100.  The  assessed  value  on  the 
basis  of  full  value  was  $93,730,145.  It  has  not  been  necessary 
to  borrow  capital  to  pay  current  expenses  of  the  local  govern- 
ment. In  the  last  five  years  park  and  street  improvements 
have  been  made  on  borrowed  capital.  There  is  a  special  im- 
provement fund  of  $1,675,596  for  this. 


JOHN  J.   INGALLS   SCHOOL. 

STATEMENT   OF   TAX   LEVY. 
(Levied  in  1916,  available  for  1917.) 

Tux  rate 

■                                                                ,                                   per, $100,  Amonnt 

iund.                                                                                                                  cents.  levied. 

Protection  of  life  and  property 28.5  $257,757.90 

Highways    ' 9.5  13l',222.20 

Health  and  sanitation 4.5  46,865 .  08 

Recreation    3.4  31,868 .  25 

Bond,  sinking 15.0  105,915 .  06 

Bond,  interest    8.6  89,043 .  63 

Park  bond,   sinking 3.0  21,557 .  93 

Park  bond,  interest 4.0  37,492.07 

Judgment    1.0  4^686150 

Total  levy   77.5  $726,408.62 

AMOUNT  APPROPRIATED   FOR   THE   FOLLOWING   DURING   1918. 

Tax  rate  Amov)H 

l>er  $100.  levied. 

1.  Schools    $734,379.98 

2.  Sanitation     )                                                                         a   c  ao  o^r  no 

3.  Health           j 4.5  46,865.08 

4.  Streets     9.5  131,222.20 

5.  Civic  Improvement 10.4  90,918 .  25 


20 


Bulletin  of  the  Universitjj  of  Kansas. 


PUBLIC  UTILITIES. 
STREETS. 

THE  STREETS  of  Armourdale  are  to  a  very  large  extent 
paved.  There  are  10%  miles  of  various  kinds  of  paving. 
The  amount  and  kind  of  paving  found  in  Armourdale  are  as 
follows : 

Sheet  asphalt   29,250  feet. 

Brick    44,875  feet. 

Bithulithic  concrete 1,000  feet. 

Bithulithic  asphalt 1,875  feet. 

Rock  asphalt 500  feet. 

Plain    macadam    2,500  feet. 

Hassam    6,500  feet. 

Total   (feet)    86,500  feet. 

Total   (miles     10%  miles. 


RAILROAD   YARDS. 


All  the  streets  are  laid  out  by  the  mayor  and  council  in  keep- 
ing with  Kansas  statutes  covering  this  phase  of  public  utili- 
ties. There  is  no  stated  width  of  streets,  but  in  all  cases  they 
have  been  found  to  comply  with  the  demands  of  the  locality. 
All  of  the  streets  in  localities  needing  it  are  provided  with  suit- 
able parking  space,  which  adds  materially  to  the  appearance 
and  convenience  of  the  streets.  There  are  in  the  way  of 
bridges,  two  made  of  wood  and  one  of  concrete,  besides  a  con- 
crete viaduct.     The  bridge  of  wood  at  Seventh  street  is  con- 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


21 


demned  most  of  the  time  and  should  be  replaced  with  a  more 
substantial  one  of  something  besides  wood.  Wood  is  the  most 
expensive  material  in  the  long  run  of  which  a  bridge  or  walks 
can  be  made. 

Street  cleaning  is  not  of  the  best.  The  streets  at  definite 
times  are  sprinkled  with  a  water  wagon  and  this  is  supple- 
mented by  men  with  push  brooms.  After  the  street  sweeper 
has  swept  the  refuse  into  piles,  he  puts  it  into  carts  and  dis- 


STREETS    SHOW   NEGLECT. 


poses  of  it.  The  streets  are  not  cleaned  often  enough  to  meet 
the  demands  of  the  local  situation,  and  because  storm  sewers 
are  iyiadequate  the  streets  are  often  very  muddy  and  covered 
ivith  filth. 

The  ordinance  applying  to  the  laying  out  and  caring  for 
streets  applies  to  alleys  also,  but  they  are  not  enforced,  hence 
the  alleys  are  complained  about  by  a  large  number  of  citizens. 
Fifty  percent  of  the  alleys  need  repairs  and  a  general  clean- 
ing up. 


22 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


TRANSPORTATION. 

It  can  be  safely  said  that  the  street  railways  and  other 
methods  of  transportation  are  adequate,  but  from  the  stand- 
point of  operation  are  not  satisfactory.  If  they  met  the  de- 
mands of  the  ordinance  (864)  governing  them  it  would  be 
better  for  all  parties  concerned.  The  street  railways  are  en- 
tirely owned  and  operated  by  private  concerns.  The  taxicabs 
and  other  livery  service  are  controlled  or  regulated  by  the 
municipality.  During  rush  hours  the  street-car  service  does 
not  meet  the  needs.  This  gives  rise  to  much  dissatisfaction, 
and  often  causes  great  inconvenience  to  the  laboring  people. 


HOMES    OF   FACTORY  WORKERS. 


SEWERAGE  AND  GARBAGE  DISPOSAL. 

In  the  first  place,  sewers  do  not  cover  all  parts  of  the  district, 
which  is  always  a  cause  of  much  complaint.  It  would  be  very 
much  to  the  interest  of  Armourdale  citizens  if  they  had  an 
ordinance  requiring  all  buildings  to  be  connected  with  the 
sewer,  but  this  cannot  be  done  until  sewers  are  extended  so  as 
to  make  it  possible. 

The  garbage  that  is  not  disposed  of  properly  by  reason  of 
the  absence  of  a  garbage  disposal  system  is  thrown  into  the 
alleys,  burned,  or  sometimes  saved  for  some  one's  chickens. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


23 


This  has  already  in  numerous  cities  proved  its  unworthiness 
and  is  recognized  as  a  source  of  flies  and  disease.  It  would 
help  matters  greatly  to  have  the  city  collect  the  garbage  reg- 
ularly. There  are  individuals  who  collect  garbage  for  personal 
gain  if  it  is  kept  in  good  condition.  This  practice  of  casting 
refuse,  sewage,  and  garbage  into  the  alleys  till  such  time  as 
the  individual  sees  fit  to  dispose  of  it  means  that  most  of  the 
alleys  must  of  necessity  be  in  a  questionable  condition. 


DOING   MY   BEST  TO   CLEAN   UP. 

Sewage  proper  should  be  disposed  of  by  a  sewage-disposal 
plant,  but  unhappily  the  city  does  not  have  one,  consequently 
the  sewage  is  dumped  into  the  river.  While  this  does  not  en- 
danger the  water  supply,  which  is  taken  from  above  the  city, 
still  it  creates  an  offensive  stream  and  jeopardizes  the  health 
of  those  living  near  the  stream.  Upon  reliable  information  it 
can  be  stated  that  petitions  for  the  placing  of  sewers  have  been 
pending  for  four  years  without  action  being  taken  on  them. 


24  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

There  are  no  catch  basins  on  Osage  street  below  Twelfth 
street,  and  Osage  is  one  of  the  chief  business  streets  of  Ar- 
mourdale.  Armourdale  has  a  drainage  tax  in  addition  to  the 
regular  tax  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  but  such  a  small  number  of 
property  owners  live  in  Armourdale  that  the  interests  of  the 
community  are  apt  to  be  neglected. 

WATER  SUPPLY. 

Armourdale  secures  its  water  from  the  Missouri  river  above 
the  points  where  the  sewers  empty  into  the  river.  It  can  be 
said  to  the  credit  of  Kansas  City  that  the  water  plant  is  owned 
and  operated  by  the  city.  Due  to  the  excellent  water  provided, 
about  75  percent  of  the  people  are  water  subscribers,  but  only 
44  percent,  or  1,408  out  of  3,126,  homes  have  water  connec- 
tions, and  because  of  the  lack  of  sewers  and  of  a  law  compelling 
owners  to  connect  ivhere  possible,  only  330  homes,  or  about  10 
percent  of  homes  are  connected  with  sewer* 

The  water  is  pumped  from  the  river  at  Quindaro  by  centrif- 
ugal pumps  to  the  plant,  where  it  is  allowed  to  settle  in  a 
series  of  settling  basins.  It  is  purified  here  by  sedimentation 
through  the  aid  of  sulphate  of  alumina  and  lime.  From  these 
basins  it  is  passed  through  rapid  sand  filters  and  is  then  steril- 
ized by  using  liquid  chlorine.  The  laboratory  shows  that  this 
produces  very  good  results.  There  is  no  bacilli  count,  and  the 
water  gives  a  very  high  test. 

The  water  is  pumped  from  the  plant  to  an  elevated  reservoir 
in  Argentine  by  fly-wheel  steam  pumps.  The  capacity  is  19 
million  gallons.  The  consumption  of  water  by  Kansas  City, 
Kan.,  Argentine,  and  Armourdale  is  17  million  gallons  per  day. 

The  water  commissioners  estimate  75  percent  of  the  resi- 
dents of  Armourdale  are  water  subscribers.  Water  mains  do 
not  extend  to  all  parts  of  Armourdale.  This  makes  it  impos- 
sible to  maintain  the  best  standards  of  sanitation. 

FIRE  PROTECTION. 

The  fire  protection  of  Armourdale  is  good,  which  indeed 
speaks  well  for  the  city.  Next  to  water  supply  the  fire  protec- 
tion should  be  considered  as  being  of  great  importance. 

There  are  two  companies.  Company  3  is  a  triple  station, 
consisting  of  three  automobiles,  a  hook  and  ladder  wagon,  a 
steamer,  and  a  hose  car.    The  whole  is  manipulated  by  a  force 


*  Statistics  gathered  by  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Kansas   City,   Kan. 


Armom'dale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


25 


of  twenty  men.     Company  6  has  a  combination  chemical  and 
hose  car  run  by  eight  men. 

While  Armourdale  has  more  units  than  most  cities  of  its 
size,  the  addition  of  others  would  be  a  profitable  investment 
because  of  the  presence  of  numerous  factories.  During  two 
months  there  were  37  fires  due  to  defective  flues,  and  32  false 
alarms  from  one  packing  plant.  These  two  features  both  re- 
sult in  loss  and  expense  and  should  be  met. 


PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH. 


HEAT  AND  LIGHT. 

Armourdale  secures  its  heat  and  light  from  a  natural  gas 
source,  owned  by  a  private  corporation,  and  an  electric  light 
plant  owned  by  the  city.  The  cost  of  gas  and  electricity  as 
compared  to  other  cities  is  as  follows : 

Electricity. — Armourdale  rate,  6  cents,  minimum,  75  cents ; 
Lawrence,  30  K.  W.,  10  cents,  minimum,  75  cents. 

Gas. — Natural  gas  is  available,  but  the  price  has  been  raised 
recently.  Litigation  over  the  legality  of  this  increase  in  the 
cities  of  this  region  is  now  in  progress.  The  franchise  calls 
for  lower-priced  gas,  but  at  a  hearing  a  higher  rate  was  al- 
lowed and  the  rates  quoted  are  now  being  contested  and  the  35 
cent  rate  demanded :  Armourdale,  80  cents ;  Kansas  City,  Mo., 
80  cents ;  Lawrence,  80  cents ;  and  Fort  Smith,  Ark.,  25  cents. 

There  are  no  municipally  owned  heating  and  power  plants. 


26 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


COMMUNICATION. 

The  needs  of  the  city  are  adequately  met  by  the  mail  service. 
The  mail  is  brought  from  the  central  station  and  delivered  by 
postmen.  The  telegraph  service  is  very  satisfactory.  There 
are  two  telephone  systems,  namely  the  Bell  and  the  Home. 
As  shown  later  on  in  this  report,  the  proportion  of  unskilled 
laborers  in  Armourdale  is  very  large,  consequently,  the  pro- 
portion of  telephone  subscribers  is  much  less  than  in  the  aver- 
age city  the  size  of  this  community. 


MORSE   SCHOOL. 


PUBLIC  BUILDINGS. 

Armourdale  is  poor  in  so  far  as  public  buildings,  markets, 
and  rest  rooms  are  concerned.  Nothing  is  existant  except  the 
small  shelter  in  the  park.  This  is  used  mainly  by  the  children 
and  is  not  in  the  best  of  condition.  Nothing  is  being  done  to 
promote  these  necessary  features  of  urban  life.  There  is  some 
discussion  of  an  institutional  church  by  the  Methodists,  and 
that  may  be  the  beginning  of  a  series  of  needed  features. 

The  city  is  in  immediate  need  of  comfort  stations,  rest  rooms 
and  baths.    There  is  not  in  existence  any  organization  to  en- 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


27 


courage  the  construction  of  the  above  desired  features,  neither 
is  an  attempt  being  made  to  improve  the  general  appearance 
of  the  city  except  by  some  more  or  less  spasmotic  individual 
efforts.  Armourdale  can  proudly  point  to  the  fact  that  tele- 
phone posts,  lamp  posts,  and  bill  boards  are  not  occupying  con- 
spicuous places  where  they  would  mar  the  appearance  of  the 
locality.    The  bill  board  law  is  enforced. 

While  nothing  is  being  done  in  the  way  of  tree  planting, 
parking  and  beautifying  in  general,  still  it  was  learned  that 
the  commissioner  of  parks  contemplated  the  building  of  con- 
siderable pavements,  the  location  and  nature  of  which  has  not 
been  definitely  decided. 

Armourdale  is  so  situated  that  it  might  easily  become  a  real 
beauty  spot.  This  can  only  be  brought  about,  however, 
through  community  action.  Its  location  is  such  that  persons 
engaged  in  the  great  industries  of  Kansas  City  find  it  conven- 
ient to  live  there.  If  the  community  is  made  a  desirable  place 
in  which  to  live  and  establish  a  home,  the  adjacent  industries 
will  always  be  assured,  a  dependable  and  permanent  supply  of 
high-class  laborers  and  the  best  class  of  people  will  continue 
to  live  there. 


A    GOOD   RESIDKNCE   SECTION. 


28  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


HEALTH  AND  SANITATION. 

WITH  defective  sewer  system,  privy  closets  unconnected 
with  sewers,  cisterns  and  dug  wells,  livestock,  dirty 
alleys,  no  definite  plan  for  garbage  disposal,  one  must  expect 
health  and  sanitation  to  be  anything  but  good.  While  Kansas 
in  many  respects  has  desirable  health  laws,  still  lack  of  con- 
scientious enforcement  makes  the  whole  plan  of  prevention 
something  of  a  failure. 

From  1,805  families  the  following  facts  were  gathered  (see 
comparison  between  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  and  Armourdale,  un- 
der Population)  : 

Cases  of  sickness 1,776 

Deaths    123 

Births    137 

The  water  supply  of  Armourdale  is  as  follows : 

City  water   1,181 

Well  water 167 

Cisterns     63 

Total  of  families 1,421 

This  compares  favorably  with  report  of  water  commissioner 
that  about  75  percent  of  the  people  use  city  water. 

Families  reporting  livestock,  including  chickens,  are  as 
given  below : 

Horses    28 

Cows  10 

Hogs   41 

Chickens    185 

Goats,  sheep,  etc 3 

Total  of  families 267 

The  existence  of  livestock  in  such  a  densely  settled  section  as 
Armourdale  demands  the  greatest  care.  Many  of  the  places 
keeping  livestock  do  not  take  any  precautions,  and  consequently 
the  premises  and  surroundings  become  infested  with  disease- 
breeding  flies. 

SEWER  CONNECTION. 

An  ideal  residence  community  cannot  be  built  up  unless 
proper  provision  is  made  for  the  disposal  of  refuse.  Here  is  a 
community  of  over  12,000  people  living  in  a  rather  small  area, 
surrounded  by  factories  and  industrial  plants,  and  ivitJiout 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  29 

adequate  provision  for  sewage  disposal.  Due  to  the  small  num- 
ber of  persons  living  in  Armourdale  who  are  home-owners,  the 
houses  are  not  connected  with  sewer  even  where  the  sewer  is 
built.  From  records  in  the  Kansas  City,  Kan,,  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  the  following  data  were  compiled : 

Homes  with  sewer  connections 330 

Homes  without  sewer  connections 2,796 


REAR   UK   A    H(.)TE1 


These  statistics  speak  for  themselves,  and  this  in  a  residence 
section  of  our  great,  prosperous  and  growing  Kansas  City. 

The  dry  toilets  are  supposed  to  be  emptied  when  vault  is 
filled  to  within  three  feet  of  surface.  But  this  law  is  not 
enforced.  One  can  readily  observe  that  health  conditions  will 
be  remarkably  improved  when  the  above  questionable  con- 
ditions are  righted. 


30  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

QUARANTINE  LAWS. 

Below  are  given  extracts  of  various  quarantine  laws  of  Kan- 
sas which  apply  to  the  community  of  Armourdale : 

Quarantine  of  persons  exposed  to  diseases:  All  persons  exposed  to, 
but  evidently  not  sick  with,  a  contagious  disease  shall  be  subject  to 
the  same  rules  as  to  quarantine  as  if  they  were  sick  with  the  disease 
to  which  they  have  been  exposed,  except  as  hereinafter  specified. 

Quarantine  of  doubtful  cases:  In  all  instances  of  doubtful  diagnosis, 
as  for  instance  where  the  physician  or  health  officer  is  unable  to  dis- 
tinguish positively  between  chickenpox,  or  between  a  diphtheria  or 
severe  tonsilitis,  it  is  ruled  that  the  public  shall  be  given  the  benefit  of 
the  doubt,  and  quarantine  restrictions  which  will  protect  the  public 
against  the   more  serious  of  the   diseases  suspected,  shall  be  imposed. 

Diseases  not  requiring  strict  quarantine:  (a)  In  all  cases  of  infec- 
tions, contagious  or  communicable  diseases  which  are  not  subject  to  regu- 
lations of  quarantine  as  hereinafter  specified,  proper  precautions  shall 
be  maintained  to  prevent  the  infection  of  others.  (6)  Persons  afflicted 
with  the  following  diseases  shall  be  subject  to  this  rule:  Actinomycosis, 
anthrax,  continued  fever  lasting  seven  (7)  days,  dengue,  dysentery,  ery- 
sipelas, favus,  glanders,  hookworm  disease,  malaria,  ophthalmia  neona- 
torium,  pneumonia,  rabies,  tenanus  and  trichinosis. — Bulletin  of  the 
Kansas  State  Board  of  Health,  Vol.  XIII,  August,  1917. 

Births  are  required  to  be  reported  within  ten  days.  We 
have  no  statistics  showing  how  physicians  comply  with  this 
law.  In  answer  to  a  questionnaire  sent  to  the  state  and  local 
boards  of  health  we  received  word  that  in  the  state  in  general 
from  85  to  90  percent  of  the  midwives  report  births  regu- 
larly. In  Kansas  City  95  percent  report  regularly;  also  that 
in  the  latter  place,  which  includes  Armourdale,  20  percent  of 
the  births  among  the  white  population,  and  35  percent  among 
the  colored  population,  are  reported  by  midwives. 

There  is  no  law  in  Kansas  requiring  the  licensing  of  mid- 
wives  according  to  training,  examination,  etc.  Under  the 
vital  statistics  law  of  the  state  they  are  required  to  register 
annually  and  to  report  births  within  ten  days.  The  board  of 
health  of  Kansas  City  answered  that  they  are  required  to  be 
registered  but  not  annually.  We  do  not  understand  this  ex- 
ception from  the  state  law,  unless  Kansas  City,  as  in  the  case 
of  New  York  City,  makes  its  own  health  regulations. 

There  are  no  regulations  in  the  state  covering  supervision 
of  midwives. 

Physicians  and  midwives  are  required  to  report  cases  of 
ophthalmia  neonatorium ;  the  health  officer  is  empowered  to  se- 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  31 

cure  attention  for  uncared-for  cases ;  free  prophylactic  outfits 
are  distributed  to  physicians  and  midwives. 

There  is  no  law  requiring  the  use  of  such  prophylactic.  We 
had  hoped  Kansas  would  introduce  a  law  to  this  effect  during 
the  last  session  of  the  legislature. 

The  Division  of  Child  Hygiene  has  prepared  and  widely 
distributed  model  blanks  for  physical  inspection  of  school 
children.  During  the  year  1918  demonstration  examinations 
were  conducted  by  the  director  of  the  division  in  14  towns. 
These  demonstrations  consisted  of  physical  examination,  as- 
sisted by  local  doctors  of  the  children  of  one  or  more  school 
rooms,  a  demonstration  lecture  in  afternoon,  and  a  public 
health  lecture  at  night.  These  school  inspection  demonstra- 
tions have  been  followed  by  the  establishment  of  a  system  of 
school  inspection  in  the  majority  of  these  towns  and  employ- 
ment of  school  nurses  in  several. 

Kansas  City,  Kan.,  has  no  school  clinics  and  employs  no 
school  nurses.  Clinics  for  school  children  are  held  in  Bell 
Memorial  Hospital,  Rosedale,  on  Saturday  afternoons.  There 
is -strong  possibility  that  these  clinics  will  soon  be  followed  by 
the  establishment  of  a  proper  system  of  physical  inspection  of 
school  children  in  some  nearby  school  districts. 

HEALTH  AND  SANITARY  LAWS  EFFECTING  WORKERS. 

Kansas    State   Board   of  Health — Ninth   Biennial   Report    and   Bulletins,    1918. 

Washing  facilities,  with  water,  soap  and  towels,  shall  be  provided  in 
sufficient  number  and  in  accessible  location  to  make  washing  convenient 
at  all  times. 
'   Work  room  floors  and  walls  shall  be  kept  clean  and  dry. 

Dressing  rooms  with  individual  lockers  shall  be  provided,  making  pos_- 
sible  the  changing  of  clothing  and  the  care  of  the  clothing  outside  the 
work  room. 

Ample  lighting  and  so  arranged  that  direct  rays  do  not  shine  into  the 
workers'  eyes. 

Heat  and  ventilation  shall  be  ample  at  all  times  to  keep  the  workers 
comfortable  and  well  supplied  with  fresh  air. 

Drinking  water  shall  be  safe  and  fresh,  cool  and  accessible,  and  in- 
dividual cups  or  bubble  fountains  shall  be  provided. 

Provisions  shall  be  made  for  workers  to  eat  their  meals  outside  the 
work  room  in  a  clean,  comfortable  place. 

A  suitable  seat  shall  be  provided  for  each  woman  employed  and  its 
use  encouraged  so  that  the  worker  may  perform  her  labor  with  conven- 
ience, comfort  and  efficiency.  All  seats  shall  have  backs  and  foot  rests 
broad  and  firm  enough  to  be  convenient  while  working. 

Risks  from  machinery  and  danger  from  fire  and  exposure  to  dust, 
fumes  and  other  occupational  hazards  shall  be  eliminated. 


32  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

The  chief  inspector,  or  deputy  inspector,  or  agent,  or  officer  of  the 
State  Board  of  Health,  or  any  local  board  of  health,  or  police  officer  of 
any  city,  shall  have  full  power  at  all  times  to  enter  and  inspect  every 
building,  room,  basement  or  cellar  occupied  or  used  for  the  production  or 
sale,  manufacture  for  sale,  storage,  sale,  distribution  or  transportation 
of  foods  and  drugs,  and  all  utensils,  fixtures,  furniture,  and  machinery 
used  as  aforesaid;  and  if  upon  inspection  any  food-  or  drug-producing 
or  distributing  establishment  conveyance,  employee,  operative,  employer, 
clerk,  driver,  or  other  person  is  found  to  be  violating  any  of  the  pro- 
visions of  chapter  230,  Session  Laws  of  1909,  or  the  rules  or  regulations 
promulgated  thereunder,  or  if  the  producing,  preparation,  manufacture, 
packing,  storing,  sale,  offering  for  sale,  distribution  of  food  is  being  con- 
ducted in  a  manner  detrimental  to  health  of  the  employees  and  operatives 
and  to  character  or  quality  of  food,  therein  being  produced,  the  officer  or 
inspector  shall  furnish  notice  of  said  violation  to  the  offender,  and  shall 
file  complaint  with  the  county  attorney  of  the  county  in  which  said  viola- 
tion occurs  and  notify  the  chief  Food  and  Drug  Inspector  of  such  action. 

MILK  REGULATIONS. 

1.  Unlawful  to  sell  any  kind  of  milk  that  is  "impure,  unclean,  diluted, 
diseased,  unwholesome  or  adulterated  or  which  contains  any  bacilli  coli 
communis  or  other  pathogenic  bacteria." 

2.  Each  cow,  the  milk  of  which  is  sold,  must  be  properly  tested  for 
tuberculosis  by  a  competent  veterinarian. 

3.  No  milk  shall  be  sold  which  has  been  exposed  to  or  contaminated 
or  affected  by  any  human  beings  or  animals  sick  with  any  contagious 
or  infectious  disease. 

4.  No  milk  shall  be  sold  which  contains  less  than  eight  and  seventy- 
five  hundredths  (8.75)  percent  of  solids,  not  fat,  and  less  than  three  and 
one-quarter  (3.25)  percent  of  butterfat.  No  cream  shall  be  sold  which 
contains  less  than  eighteen   (18)   percent  butterfat. 

5.  If  cream  has  been  removed,  can  of  milk  must  be  marked  with  the 
words  "skimmed  milk." 

6.  All  milk  utensils  must  be  thoroughly  washed  and  sterilized. 

7.  All  persons  handling  milk  within  city  shall  keep  names  of  people 
or  companies  who  supply  milk,  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place. 

8.  Duty  of  food  inspector  to  visit,  view  and  inspect  all  places  and 
vehicles  in  which  milk  is  sold,  delivered,  etc, 

Oydiyiance  No  HS78  — "The  officer  or  inspector  shall  furnish  notice 
of  any  violation  to  the  offender,  and  shall  file  complaint  with  the  county 
attorney  of  the  county  in  which  such  violation  occurs  and  notify  the 
Chief  Food  and  Drug  Inspector  of  such  action." 

State  Board  of  Health  issues  monthly  bulletins  for  instruc- 
tion. These  are  sent  to  physicians  and  any  citizens  who  ask 
that  it  be  furnished  them. 

The  State  Board  of  Health  has  equipped  a  so-called  "health 
car"  which  is  open  to  everyone,   showing  the  essentials   of 


Armourdale — A  City  Withm  a  City. 


33 


hygiene  and  sanitation,  care  of  infants,  and  care  and  regula- 
tion of  communicable  diseases. 

Recently  there  has  been  added  to  the  educational  program  a 
number  of  publications  regarding  various  aspects  of  social 
hygiene.  These  pamphlets  are  being  widely  distributed  as  a 
result  of  placing  1,200  war-measure  posters  in  toilets  of  public 
buildings. 

An  active  campaign  is  being  carried  on  by  representatives  of 
the  surgeon-general's  office  among  health  officials  of  counties, 
as  well  as  municipalities.  There  is  needed  a  more  rigid  en- 
forcement of  the  law  regarding  the  reporting  of  communicable 
diseases. 

Deaths  are  reported,  but  there  is  a  lack  of  discussion  of 
causes  in  the  daily  papers.  No  extensive  work  is  done  by  the 
various  societies  for  the  prevention  of  diseases. 

In  the  year  1918-'19  there  were  1,334  cases  of  sickness  in 
1,342  families,  as  follows: 

Meningitis    1 

Nervous  diseases   2 

Neuralgia    10 

Operations 16 


3 

68 
1 


Paralysis 
Pink  eye  .  .  . 
Pleurisy   .  .  . 
Pneumonia 
Rheumatism 
Rupture 


Abscess     

Accidents   

Adenoids    

Appendicitis    3 

Asthma    5 

Bad  eyes 1 

Bright's  disease    3 

Burn    1 

Cancer    3 

Chickenpox    2 

Colds 7 

Cholera     4 

Diphtheria   3 

Influenza    1,169 

Gall  stones 2 

Goitre   2 

Heart  disease   4 

Intestinal  disease    1 

Malaria    1 

Measles    13 

HOUSING. 

Houses  in  Armourdale  are  chiefly  of  the  one-family  type  and 
contain  one,  two,  three  and  four  rooms.  Comparatively  few 
owners  live  in  Armourdale,  in  fact  78  percent  are  renters,  and 
naturally  there  is  little  attempt  at  improvement.  This  is  true 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  over  one-third  of  the  families  have 
lived  in  this  community  from  10  to  40  years,  and  less  than  15 
percent  have  lived  here  one  year  or  less.  The  owners  are  inter- 
ested in  housing  as  a  business  proposition  only,  and  spend  no 


3 

2 

2 

33 

9 

1 

Smallpox    29 

1 

9 

4 

3 

1 

2 

3 

6 


Shot 

Tonsilitis    

Typhoid    -. .  . 

Tuberculosis    .  .  . 

Tumor    

Whooping  cough 
Killed  in  army.  . 
Other  diseases   . 


3 — K.  U.  Bui. — 1093. 


34 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


more  than  necessary  for  upkeep.  The  houses  are  built  very 
largely  on  25-foot  lots,  and  often  on  less,  so  that  the  roofs 
almost  touch  and  sometimes  there  is  barely  space  between  the 
houses  for  a  person  to  walk.  This  makes  the  houses  dark, 
dingy  and  unsanitary,  and  illustrates  the  fact  that  even  indi- 
vidual family  houses  may  be  most  undesirable  and  unsanitary. 
Conditions  are  not  such  as  to  encourage  green  lawns  and 
flowers.  Alleys  are  bordered  with  decrepit  outhouses,  dry- 
goods  boxes  and  debris.  This  is  not  a  foreign  section,  but  a 
community  composed  of  nearly  90  percent  native  born.    They 


HOMES   OP  WORKINGMEN.      FRONT  VIEW. 


represent  some  of  our  best  American  stock,  and  hence  we  can- 
not leave  the  question  as  it  is  sometimes  done  by  the  state- 
ment, "Oh,  these  foreigners  don't  want  better  living  condi- 
tions." Here  are  people  who  are  living  in  unfavorable  circum- 
stances because  they  do  not  have  control  of  the  situation. 

The  following  data  gives  us  an  indication  of  the  housing 
situation. 

Average  size  of  family 3.5 

Roomers,  percent  of  population 4 

Homes  with  sewer  connection,  percent 10 

Homes  without  sewer  connection,  percent 90 

Homes  with  water  connection,  percent 44 

Homes  without  water  connection,  percent 56 

Families  owning  or  purchasing  homes,  percent 22 

Families  renting  homes,  percent 78 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


35 


The  statistics  showing  the  very  small  number  of  homes  con- 
nected with  the  sewer,  and  the  comparatively  small  number 
connected  with  city  water,  give  us  a  rather  definite  fact  by 
which  to  judge  of  the  housing  situation.  This,  together  with 
the  fact  that  over  three-fourths  of  the  people  are  renters, 
shows  us  that  the  housing  situation  is  not  unfavorable  be- 
cause of  the  careless  attitude  of  the  citizens  of  Armourdale, 
but  because  the  owners  of  the  rental  property  are  able  to  get 
greater  returns  on  money  invested  by  permitting  houses  to 
remain  in  this  unsatisfactory  condition. 


HOMES   OF  "U'ORKINGMEN.     BACK  VIEW. 


RENTAL  RATES. 

The  report  of  one  of  the  investigators  which  is  typical  of  the 
whole  city  gives  a  fair  picture  of  the  rental  situation.  The 
map  and  location  of  places  spoken  of  are  omitted. 

"At  district  A  a  real  estate  dealer  reported  that  the  rent  on  two-room 
houses  near  there  was  $10  and  rent  on  four-room  houses  was  $14. 

"In  district  B  the  rent  on  two  one-room  houses  was  $9.  Two  two- 
room  houses  beside  them  rent  for  $11. 

"At  D  a  house  which  is  for  sale  for  $1,300,  rents  for  $11  per  month. 
The  house  is  in  good  repair.  Three  rooms  on  a  25-foot  lot  facing  south  on 
a  paved  street  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  tracks. 

"In  the  district  at  E  the  rent  for  two-  and  three-room  houses  is  $11  to 
$12  per  month.    Lots  are  said  to  be  selling  for  from  $500  to  $600.     Specu- 


36  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

lators  think  the  railroad  will  be  buying  more  land  so  are  holding  for  a 
good  price  and  are  not  paving  or  even  building. 

"Along  Kansas  avenue  at  F  the  two-  and  three-room  houses  are  on 
25-foot  lots,  some  so  close  that  the  water  from  one  roof  will  run  in  the 
eave  trough  of  the  adjacent  house.     Rent  is  $12. 

"All  of  these  buildings  have  gas  for  heating  and  lighting  and  water  in 
the  yard.  West  of  the  tracks  is  restricted  against  negroes  and  Mexi- 
cans.    The  inhabitants  point  to  this  with  pride. 

"At  H  the  second  and  third  floor  of  a  large  brick  store  building  is  oc- 
cupied by  about  sixty  people.  The  rooms  are  about  10  or  12  by  14  feet. 
There  is  no  bath  and  but  one  toilet  on  each  floor  for  the  common  use  of 
all  and  is  in  a  filthy  condition.  Rent  is  $1.50  per  week  for  one  person  or 
$12  per  month  for  the  room. 

"In  the  rear  of  some  store  buildings  at  K  are  several  small  two-room 
dwellings  which  rent  for  $8  or  $9. 

"All  races  and  nationalities  live  in  the  district  Y.  Most  of  the  build- 
ings are  long,  narrow,  three-room  houses.  The  rent  is  $9  in  most  cases. 
Some  of  the  Mexicans  live  in  houses  no  better  than  hog  sheds — not  as 
good  as  a  well-built  hog  house.  The  worst  conditions  are  in  the  alley 
dwellings — places  provided  alongside  the  out-houses  and  privy  vaults. 

"Everyone  says  that  rent  is  high.  Houses  are  scarce.  In  many  cases 
the  rent  has  raised  only  one  dollar  and  then  when  there  was  a  change  of 
occupants.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  rents  are  all  about  the  same,  rang- 
ing from  $9  to  $14.  The  houses  are  small.  Lots  are  small  so  there  can  be 
many  small  houses  built." 

FOOD  INSPECTION. 

The  state  food  and  drug  inspector  reports  that  no  separate 
records  of  Armourdale  are  kept  but  that  the  conditions  there 
were  rather  bad,  at  least  worse  than  the  rest  of  Kansas  City. 

As  Kansas  City  has  its  own  inspectors  who  are  quite  efficient, 
the  state  inspectors  do  not  go  there  unless  especially  requested. 

An  inspection  of  the  city  was  made  in  March.  About  one 
out  of  every  five  necessary  re-inspections  made  in  Kansas 
City  were  in  Armourdale.  A  majority  of  the  business  places 
in  Armourdale  had  to  be  re-inspected  at  least  once  and  often 
several  times  before  they  finally  passed.  However,  the  reports 
stated  that  usually  after  orders  are  given  and  proprietors 
given  a  specific  time  in  which  to  clean  up  their  premises  they 
see  that  the  orders  are  carried  out  before  the  time  limit  ex- 
pires. Some  of  the  objectionable  features  found  most  often 
are :  sleeping  in  the  rear  of  the  business  place ;  that  is,  having 
living  quarters  in  the  store  room  with  no  adequate  partition 
between ;  another  is  exposing  such  things  as  dried  fruits,  bread 
and  other  food  products  to  the  open  air  and  flies. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  37 

In  many  cases  as  many  as  three  and  four  inspections  had  to 
be  made  before  the  places  were  finally  passed.  In  looking  over 
the  card  index  it  is  noticeable  that  nearly  every  place  of  busi- 
ness in  Armourdale,  on  Osage  and  Kansas  avenues,  had  to  be 
re-inspected  before  it  could  pass.  If  no  re-inspection  is  nec- 
essary there  is  only  the  card  filed,  but  when  re-inspections 
are  necessary  as  many  slips  as  re-inspections  are  fastened  to 
the  original  card. 

MILK  INSPECTION  AND  DISTRIBUTION. 

It  is  now  generally  recognized  that  the  health  of  a  com- 
munity is  very  greatly  effected  by  the  milk  situation.  Armour- 
dale is  fortunate  in  being  a  part  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  because 
the  milk  situation  is  better  there  than  in  many  smaller  Kan- 
sas cities.  Some  dairymen  frankly  admit  that  they  are  unable 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  Kansas  City,  and  hence  sell  their 
milk  locally. 

Most  of  the  milk  sold  in  Armourdale  is  sold  through  shops, 
stores  and  confectionaries.    The  amount  sold  is  as  follows. 

55  stores,  daily   1,721  quarts  pastuerized. 

1  store,  daily 45  quarts  raw. 

Total 1,766  quarts  bottled  milk. 

In  addition  to  this,  about  350  pound  cans  of  condensed  milk 
are  sold  daily.  There  is  also  a  small  amount  sold  by  owners  of 
individual  cows. 

Fifty-six  grocery  stores,  confectionaries  and  restaurants 
were  investigated.  All  stores  buy  of  creamery  or  milk  com- 
panies and  sell  to  their  customers.  None  are  doing  business  on 
the  commission  basis.  Two-thirds  or  more  of  the  establish- 
ments reported  upon  are  grocery  stores.  Practically  all  of  the 
milk  sold  in  Armourdale  is  handled  through  these  stores.  Con- 
densed milk  is  sold  in  large  and  small  cans.  P^'ew  dealers  could 
tell  very  accurately  how  much  they  sold.  But  in  all  our  calcu- 
lations the  amounts  are  given  in  equivalents  of  large  cans,  i.  e., 
one  pound  net  weight. 

CITY  ORDINANCE  No.  14878. 

Kansas  City's  milk  ordinance  was  passed  by  her  board  of 
commissioners  July  6,  1917.  It  is,  however,  quite  complete  and 
if  fully  put  into  practice  would  insure  for  the  consumers  in 
Kansas  City  a  most  excellent  grade  of  milk. 


38  Bulletin  of  the  Univei'sity  of  Kansas. 

It  is  far  too  long  to  try  to  give  in  detail,  but  we  may  note 
some  of  the  more  important  provisions. 

Section  2  provides  that  each  cow  from  whom  milk  or  prod- 
ucts of  milk  are  to  be  sold  in  Kansas  City  must  be  tuberculin 
tested  by  a  competent  veterinarian  approved  by  city  health  de- 
partment and  each  cow  must  be  so  tested  once  each  year. 

Section  3  provides  that  milk  sold  in  Kansas  City  must  test 
at  least  8.75  percent  of  solids 'not  fat,  and  not  less  than  3.25 
percent  butter  fat. 

Section  5  requires  milk  sold  as  anything  but  whole  must  be 
marked  so  plainly. 

Section  6  requires  all  places  of  handling  and  keeping  milk 
must  be  clean  and  free  from  contamination. 

Section  8  requires  registration  of  all  persons  selling  milk  in 
the  city. 

Section  10  requires  all  dairies  from  which  these  creamery 
companies  purchase  milk  must  be  open  to  inspection  at  all 
hours  of  day  or  night. 

Sections  12  to  16  define  the  grading  of  milk.  Based  on  grad- 
ing of  dairies  and  bacteria  count.  Grade  A  must  not  have 
over  100,000  bacteria  per  cc.  if  raw.  Grade  A  may  have  500,- 
000  bacteria  per  cc.  before  being  pasteurized.  The  tempera- 
tures for  cooling  and  keeping  are  stated.  Grade  A  pasteurized 
milk  must  not  have  a  bacteria  count  of  over  50,000  per  cc. 

Section  22  provides  that  all  milk  offered  or  sold  in  Kansas 
City  must  come  from  plants  that  score  75  by  dairy  inspector. 

Section  37  provides  milk  containers  shall  not  be  used  for 
other  purposes  and  then  returned  for  milk  containers  unless 
sterilized.  That  as  soon  as  the  contents  of  any  milk  container 
is  emptied  that  container  must  be  thoroughly  washed. 

The  ordinance  goes  into  detail  for  handling  milk,  scoring 
dairies,  testing  milk  and  things  pertaining  to  dairy  work.  For 
the  enforcements  of  these  sections  and  the  maintenance  of 
dairy  standards,  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  is  fortunate  in  having  a 
city  milk  inspector. 

Up  to  the  first  of  May,  1919,  the  responsibility  for  milk  had 
rested  with  the  city  food  inspector,  but  the  first  of  May,  Kan- 
sas City  secured  a  city  milk  inspector,  thus  relieving  a  city  food 
inspector  of  the  work  and  making  possible  adequate  supervision 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  39 

and  inspection  of  the  production,  care,  handling  and  sale  of 
milk. 

The  milk  inspector  is  a  state  agent  not  responsible  to  the 
city  food  inspector  but  to  the  state.  His  card  says  "State 
Deputy,  Juvenile  Beneficiary  Department."  He  says  he  is 
working  for  no  dairy  or  store  but  in  the  interest  of  the  chil- 
dren and  babies  in  Kansas  City.  His  position  is  secured 
through  civil  service.  He  is  furnished  a  Ford  runabout  to  use 
in  his  work. 

Although  milk  conditions  are  above  what  we  find  in  many 
large  cities,  he  is  finding  plenty  to  do  and  plenty  to  be  recom- 
mended. He  tries  to  be  reasonable,  but  he  is  persistent  and 
insistent  and  will  enforce  compliance  with  the  law. 

For  consideration  we  might  divide  his  work  into  three 
parts — inspection  of  milk  companies,  of  the  dairies  and  of 
milk  being  peddled.  The  milk  companies  were  visited  in  com- 
pany with  the  inspector.  He  inspects  the  building,  the  meth- 
ods of  handling,  etc.,  making  suggestions  freely.  At  one 
plant  he  found  an  open  flue  up  towards  the  ceiling.  He  asked 
that  it  be  closed.  He  found  their  bottles  dusty  on  the  outside. 
They  blamed  it  to  the  city  water.  He  felt  down  in  the  bottom 
of  their  tank  in  which  they  pasteurize  and  found  it  muddy. 
They  admitted  it  had  not  been  washed  for  two  or  three  days. 
One  might  guess  longer. 

In  his  inspection  of  dairies  he  finds  some  difficulties.  One 
place  visited  recently  he  found  a  very  fine  milk  house.  Indeed, 
it  was  so  fine  that  the  proprietor  had  a  hired  hand  sleeping 
in  it.    He  made  them  move  him  out  and  clean  up. 

In  another  place  he  found  the  milk  cans  lying  over  on  their 
sides  free  of  access  to  chickens,  pigs  and  what  not.  In  general, 
conditions  are  far  from  ideal  at  most  of  the  dairies,  but 
he  realizes  that  it  will  require  constant  effort  to  raise  the 
standard. 

He  takes  samples  every  day  or  two  from  the  wagons  as  they 
are  delivering.  Recently  he  condemned  a  whole  wagon  load 
of  milk  because  he  found  sediment  in  the  bottom  of  the  bottles. 

The  samples  are  analyzed  for  percent  of  butter  fat,  solids 
and  for  specific  gravity.  It  is  occasionally  necessary  to  test 
for  watering. 


40 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


TEST    FOR   APRIL   AND    MAY. 


(Depai 

tment  reports.) 

, — Butter 

Fat^     r 

—Specific  Gravity — ^ 

, Total  Solids ^ 

Aiii-U. 

May. 

April. 

Mail. 

April. 

Mail. 

I 

3.7 

a 

3.4 

32.3 

a. 

32 

12.38 

a.  1.209 

b 

3.5 

b. 

32 

b.  1,221 

II 

3!4 

a 

3.2 

3i!5 

a 

32 

ii!97 

a. 11.85 

3.6 

b 

3.4 

31 

b. 

31 

12.08 

6.11.84 

Ill 

3.4 

3.3 

31.5 

31.5 

11.97 

11.85 

3.3 

31.5 

11.85 

4.1 

33.5 

13.31 

4.4 

33.5 

13.68 

IV 

3!6 

.    •    .    . 

33 

5 

i2!70 

V 

'.'.'.'.'.    S.6 

32.5 

12!  46 

VI 

3.7 

3.6 

4.'3 

34 
33 

33 

5 

12.96 
12.58 

13.56 

Ill 

4.3 

4.3 

34 

34 

13.68 

13.6' 

3.6 

3.7 

32 

30 

12.33 

11.95 

4.2 

• . . 

35 

13.82- 

METHODS  OF  HANDLING  MILK. 

We  will  include  in  this  report  a  general  statement  of  the 
methods  used  by  three  of  the  largest  companies  in  handling 
their  milk, 

Plafit  1. — "The  only  way  to  have  good  milk  is  to  see  that 
conditions  are  right  at  the  dairies,"  is  the  way  the  manager 
of  this  company  feels.  Consequently,  he  has  one  man  whose 
only  business  is  to  visit  the  dairies  and  farmers  from  whom 
he  buys  and  see  that  things  are  kept  right. 

He  buys  from  a  good  many  dairies ;  much  of  his  milk  comes 
from  Lawrence,  Lansing,  Bonner  Springs  and  Walcott,  Kan. 

The  night  and  morning  milk  comes  in  in  the  forenoon,  and 
is  pasteurized  that  day  and  taken  out  for  sale  the  next  day.  So 
it  is  from  24  to  36  hours  old  when  taken  to  the  stores. 

This  plant  has  modern  equipment.  The  milk  is  weighed 
and  emptied  into  a  tank  to  flow  through  automatic  fillers. 
But  the  bottles  are  sterilized  before  use.  They  are  put  nose 
down  on  a  slide  (very  open)  where  they  go  into  a  vat  of  steam 
coming  off  a  caustic  solution.  From  this  they  pass  through 
a  washing  with  "sweet  water."  Then  they  are  placed  in  the 
filler  and  follow  around  a  path  while  filling,  at  the  end  of 
which  they  are  capped  two  at  a  time.  They  are  placed  in 
cases  and  put  on  a  slowly  moving  rack  where  they  start 
through  the  pasteurizer.  It  moves  two  inches  a  minute.  They 
move  through  a  rapidly  increasing  temperature  till  they  get 
to  145  degrees,  which  section  required  30  minutes  to  pass. 
Then  they  go  through  gradually  cooling  degrees  till  they  come 
out  at  a  cool  temperature   (about  50  degrees,  1  think).     The 


Armourdale — A  City  Withm  a  City.  41 

temperatures  are  automatically  regulated.  Thus  the  milk  is 
pasteurized  and  is  now  ready  for  delivery. 

The  plant  has  its  own  refrigerating  system. 

Plant  2. — Instead  of  the  thorough  system  of  bottle  washing 
they  have  brushes  on  revolving  spindles  over  some  warm  water 
in  a  trough  where  a  young  man  stands  washing  bottles.  From 
this  washing  they  go  to  a  bath  of  constantly  changing  cold 
water.  The  pasteurizing  is  all  done  in  a  large  tank.  When 
the  milk  is  bottled,  sealed  and  cased,  then  the  cases  are  put  in 
this  tank  first  filled  with  tepid  water  which  is  gradually 
changed  to  150°,  and  it  is  supposed  to  be  kept  at  this  tem- 
perature for  30  minutes,  when  they  begin  to  run  in  cool 
water  and  cool  it  down  to  city  water.  The  whole  process  re- 
quires nearly  two  hours.  They  plan  to  use  ice  in  the  tank  for 
better  cooling. 

Plant  3. — They  had  their  place  all  torn  up,  for  they  are  re- 
modeling, but  it  will  be  clean,  white-walled  when  finished. 
Their  equipment  is  a  little  better  than  No.  2.  They  say  they 
secure  their  milk  from  21  dairies,  and  go  and  get  it  themselves. 
They  boast  that  every  cow  in  these  21  dairies  is  tuberculin 
tested,  which  is  merely  in  accordance  with  the  city  ordinance. 

Their  two  tanks  make  a  bit  better  system  than  the  one-tank 
system.  Between  the  two  large  tanks  is  a  small  one  for 
cooling  of  water.  There  are  coils  of  pipe  down  in  this  small 
tank,  so  for  cooling  the  city  water  flows  through  these  coils 
which  are  in  ice-cold  water.  They  say  they  keep  the  milk  at 
145°  for  30  minutes,  and  that  the  secret  of  good  pasteurizing 
is  quick  heating  and  quick  cooling.  The  process  requires  over 
an  hour  and  a  half.  The  inspector  says  one  company  is  install- 
ing modern  equipment  on  a  much  smaller  scale  than  No.  1. 
The  rest  are  using  the  tank  method.  He  feels  that  they  are 
experimenting  with  pasteurizing,  but  doubts  the  efficacy  of 
their  methods.  The  manager  of  one  company  said  he  believed 
the  city  should  take  charge  of  the  milk  business  or  at  least 
the  pasteurizing  and  distribution  of  it. 

Kansas  City  is  indeed  very  fortunate  in  having  a  full-time 
milk  inspector, -for  he  cannot  only  visit  pasteurizing  and  dis- 
tribution stations,  but  he  can  and  does  inspect  the  dairies  and 
farms  where  the  milk  is  produced.  The  milk  standards  at  the 
dairies  and  everywhere  should  rise.  Pasteurizing  can  help 
to  keep  good  milk  good,  but  it  will  not  make  bad  milk  good. 
It  must  be  watched  from  its  source  to  its  very  consumption. 


42  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


INDUSTRY  AND  LABOR. 

ARMOURDALE  is  a  part  of  a  great  urban  community — 
Greater  Kansas  City.  The  following  clipping  from  the 
Kansas  City  Star  June  29,  1919,  gives  an  idea  of  the  type  of 
community  it  is: 

Twice  daily  for  three  weeks  there  has  appeared  in  The  Star  a  sharp, 
brief  appraisal  of  Kansas  City.  Here  are  resources  thus  measured  or  dis- 
closed, the  stuff  out  of  which  a  great  city  is  to  be  built: 

Lumber — First  in  distribution. 

Seeds — Chief  distribution  point. 

Federal  Reserve  Bank — Most  profitable  outside  New  York. 

Meat — Second  in  shipments. 

Winter  Wheat — Largest  primary  market. 

Bank  clearings — Fifth. 

Flour — Third  in  production. 

Postal  receipts — Eleventh. 

Railroad  mileage — 26  percent  of  Nation's  mileage  in  Kansas  City's 
trade  territory. 

Motor  cars  and  accessories — Third  in  distribution. 

Union  baggage  station — Largest  and  busiest  outside  New  York. 

Railroad  center — Second  largest. 

Hay  mai-ket — World's  largest. 

Desirable  office  space — 100  percent  filled. 

Kafir  corn  and  milo  maize — Largest  market. 

Tributary  trade — First. 

Agricultural  implements — First  in  distribution. 

Volume  of  discount  paper — Second  only  to  New  York. 

Tractors — First  in  distribution. 

News  distribution — Center  of  largest  Associated  Press  territory. 

Parks  and  boulevards — Largest  connected  system  in  America. 

Stock  and  feed  cattle — World's  largest  market. 

Farming  territory — First. 

Soap — Third  in  production. 

Horses  and  mules — Second  largest  world  market. 

Telegraphic  business — Third. 

Native  born  population — First. 

Residential  sections — Finest  in  America. 

Motor  car  and  tractor  education — First. 

Schools — First  in  buildings  and  equipment. 

Purebred  cattle — Hereford  capital. 

Fruit  and  vegetables — Second  in  distribution. 

Tributary  population — Ten  million  v^nthin  ten  hours'  ride. 

Population— Half  million  in  Greater  Kansas  City. 

Manufacturing — Tenth. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


43 


Armourdale  is  an  industrial  community  within  Kansas  City 
made  up  of  good,  hard-working,  American  people.  It  is  a  sur- 
prising fact  that  only  22  percent  of  the  families  own  their 
homes,  while  78  percent  do  not.  Of  the  homes  only  2  percent 
or  496  pieces  of  property  are  not  encumbered,  while  98  percent 
or  2,636  pieces  of  property  are  either  encumbered  or  not  owned 
by  the  occupant. 

OCCUPATIONS  OF  HEADS  OF  FAMILIES. 

The  means  by  which  the  people  obtain  their  livelihood  is  of 
primary  importance  in  the  study  of  any  community.  The 
economic  status  of  individuals,  which  is  largely  dependent  upon 


RAILROAD   SHOPS. 


occupation,  usually  determines  many  other  factors  in   com- 
munity life.    The  following  table  summarizes  the  information 
obtained  in  regard  to  the  occupation  of  workers  in  Armourdale. 
Occupation  of  2,793  heads  of  families  in  Armourdale,  Kan.  :* 

Occupation.  Number.  Percent. 

Skilled  Labor    631  22.4 

Unskilled*  Labor    1,598  56.9 

Professional     38  1.3 

Farmer    18  0.6 

Business    188  6.6 

Retired    35  1.2 

Housewife    141  5.0 

Merchant    141  5.0 

Soldier    5  0.2 

*  Chamber  of  Cominei-cc  records,  1918. 


44 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


A  comparison  of  this  table  with  the  percentages  shown  from 
the  records  of  the  voters  registered  in  Armourdale  shows  a 
close  approximation. 

Occupations  of  2,474  male  voters  in  Armourdale,  Kan. : 

Oeciipation.  Percent. 

Skilled  Labor    24 . 0 

Unskilled  Labor   43 . 0 

Professional   1.0 

Business  and  Merchants   9.4 

These  figures  indicate  a  larger  proportion  of  unskilled  work- 
men than  is  ordinarily  the  case  in  a  community  the  size  of 
Armourdale.    This  is  due  to  the  location  within  the  district  of 


PACKING   PLANTS. 


some  very  large  industrial  and  manufacturing  concerns  that 

are  great  users  of  unskilled  labor.    The  table  is  interesting  as 

showing  the  eight  largest  firms  in  number  of  employees  for 
the  year  1918: 

Men.    *  iVometi. 

Swift  &  Co.,  meat  packers 3,200  250 

Cudahy  &  Co.,  meat  packers 2,000  250 

Wilson  &  Co.,  meat  packers 2,600  600 

Morris   Packing  Co 1,700  300 

Rock  Island  R.  R.  shops 1,082  .... 

Union  Pacific  shops 750  .... 

Peet  Bros.  Soap  Co 470 

Proctor  Gamble  Soap  Co 400  .... 

Total    12,202  1,400 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


45 


It  is  estimated  that  10,000  workmen  resident  outside  of  the 
community  work  each  in  Armourdale.  A  study  of  Armour- 
dale  shows  that  the  greater  part  of  the  workers  living  in 
Armourdale  work  there.  An  examination  of  1,471  families 
indicated  chief  wage  earners  in  1,131  as  working  in  Armour- 
dale, 272  elsewhere  and  68  out  of  work.  The  demand  for  labor 
in  Armourdale  has  at  least  until  very  recently  been  good.    At 


AN    INDUSIKIAL   .SKCTIUN. 


this  time  (April,  1919)  the  demand  for  labor  may  be  some- 
what lessened  because  of  the  cancelling  of  large  government 
orders  and  the  expectation  of  large  amounts  of  purchased 
army  supplies  such  as  meat,  etc.,  being  thrown  upon  the 
market. 

WAGES  IN  ARMOURDALE. 

The  matter  of  wages  is  always  rather  difficult  to  determine 
as  it  is  often  considered  a  rather  personal  matter.  With  un- 
skilled labor  roughly  receiving  about  60  cents  an  hour  we  can 


46  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

see  that  the  56  percent  secured  about  $28.80  per  week  of  48 
hours.  With  steady  work  this  is  not  as  bad  as  one  might  find 
in  many  places. 

There  is  considerable  employment  of  women  in  some  of  the 
larger  industries,  as  shown  in  the  chart.  Some  of  this  labor 
was  unskilled,  doing  such  work  as  that  in  filling  sausages,  etc., 
at  the  packing  plants  and  was  paid  at  the  rate  of  33  cents  per 
hour.  A  considerable  amount  of  skilled  female  help  is  also 
used  in  such  capacity  as  stenographers  and  typists.  The  aver- 
age wage  for  experienced  stenographers  appeared  to  be  about 
$20  per  week  and  the  typist  positions  paid  from  $10  to  $15  per 
week. 

A  great  number  of  labor  unions,  local,  are  found  in  Armour- 
dale  and  these  in  turn  are  represented  in  the  Central  Labor 
Union  of  Kansas  City,  Kan. : 

Local  No. 

Bakery  Salesmen    335 

Amalgamated  Sheet  Metal  Workers 319 

Barbers    185 

Brotherhood  of  Local  Firemen   (2  lodges) 611 

Brotherhood  of  Firemen  and  Engineers 330 

Brotherhood  of  Locomotive  Engineers   (4  lodges) ....  2,199 

Brotherhood  of  Reg.  Carriers  (4  lodges) 1,412 

Carpenters    (2   lodges) 697 

Cigar  Makers    345 

Machinists'  Helpers   864 

Machinists    278 

Cattle   Butchers    208 

Hog  Butchers    215 

Loading  Stock  Workers 280 

Tank  House  Workers   336 

Meat  Cutters    (2  lodges)    958 

Mechanics  582 

The  above  table  gives  the  most  important  unions.  How- 
ever, there  are  various  other  smaller  unions  found  in  Armour- 
dale,  the  total  number  amounting  to  55.  Another  fact  pre- 
sented by  the  survey  of  very  much  importance  in  explaining 
the  situation  is  that  of  the  22,000  union  men  in  the  entire  city 
of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  15,000  live  or  work  in  Armourdale;  a 
very  good  illustration  of  the  chief  occupation  and  class  of  the 
citizens  of  Armourdale.  Then  we  find  that  two  very  good  re- 
sults are  seemingly  the  direct  outcome  of  these  labor  unions. 
First,  they  play  an  important  role  in  determining  the  small 
number  of  unemployed  found  in  Armourdale,  and  second, 
after  a  very  detailed  study,  it  was  found  that  the  wages  paid 
union  men  were  somewhat  higher  than  those  paid  to  nonunion 
men. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  47 

The  activities  of  the  labor  unions  of  Armourdale  may  be 
somewhat  roughly  classified  as  follows : 

1.  Better  working  conditions. 

a.  Reduce  unemployment. 

b.  Secure  better  wages  and  homes. 

2.  Insurance. 

a.    Insurance  benefits  in  connection  with  membership. 
h.    Also  sickness  and  accident  insurance  benefits. 

3.  Social. 

a.  Various  meetings. 

b.  Socials  held  in  connection  with  them. 

4.  Publicity. 

a.    Labor  Union  Bulletin,  regular  sized  newspaper,  now  being  pub- 
lished by  the  Central  Labor  Union. 

5.  Political. 

a.  Agitation  for  a  labor  party. 

b.  Increasing  tendency  for  the  unions  to  enter  politics. 

Another  thing  which  presented  itself  constantly  was  the  fact 
that  with  the  office  men  of  the  various  concerns  and  industries 
from  whom  attempts  were  made  to  secure  data  there  prevailed 
an  unquestionable  feeling  of  dislike  for  the  labor  unions.  How- 
ever, this  was  curbed  by  necessity,  and  the  officials  refused  to 
openly  discuss  unions,  but  the  undercurrent  of  opinions  among 
them  all  struck  about  the  same  chord.  With  labor  unions  there 
seems  to  be  the  same  feeling  toward  the  oflficial — one  of  dislike 
and  distrust. 

Regarding  woman  labor  in  Armourdale  information  was 
exceedingly  difficult  to  obtain.  Altogether,  approximately 
8,000  women  were  employed  in  three  packing  plants  of  Ar- 
mourdale— Swift,  Cudahy,  and  Wilson — during  the  war,  but 
since,  this  has  undoubtedly  been  considerably  reduced.  Accord- 
ing to  the  best  data  obtainable  approximately  85  percent  of  the 
women  belong  to  labor  unions;  this  compares  very  favorably 
with  the  number  of  men  in  labor  unions.  However,  no  doubt 
can  be  entertained  but  that  the  large  number  of  women  em- 
ployed in  these  plants  is  a  result  more  directly  of  war  condi- 
tions than  any  other,  and  no  doubt  is  an  abnormal  circumstance 
not  found  under  ordinary  conditions. 

SUMMARY. 

Armourdale  is  primarily  an  industrial  community.  The 
industries  there  not  only  provide  work  for  most  of  the  in- 
habitants, but  also  to  thousands  of  persons  outside  of  the  com- 
munity. The  majority  of  heads  of  families  are  unskilled  labor- 
ers; in  fact,  the  combined  number  of  skilled  and  unskilled  la- 


48 


Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


borers  constitute  nearly  80  percent  of  the  heads  of  families. 
The  working  people  are  strongly  organized,  both  the  men  and 
women  belonging  quite  generally  to  some  union.  This  insures 
them  a  better  wage,  and  more  dependable  working  conditions, 
as  is  evidenced  by  the  higher  wage  scale  than  among  unor- 
ganized labor.  While  the  employers  do  not  uniformly  agree  to 
the  benefits  of  organized  labor,  many  admit  that  better  results 
are  obtained  from  intelligent,  organized  groups  than  from 
ignorant  and  unorganized  laborers. 


J.    FISKE   SCHOOL. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  49 


LEGAL  RESTRICTIONS  AND  REGULATIONS. 
CHILD  LABOR  LAWS. 

THE  welfare  of  a  community  or  an  individual  is  directly 
affected  by  its  industry  or  wealth.  The  laws  that  govern 
the  individuals  and  control  the  industries  also  have  an  impor- 
tant bearing.  Kansas  has  a  number  of  laws  all  tending  to  pro- 
tect society  and  the  individual  without  placing  burdensome 
restrictions  upon  any  line  of  legitimate  business.  Of  first  im- 
portance among  these  are  the  child  labor  laws.  These  were 
passed  by  the  legislature  in  1917,  modifying  very  materially 
those  that  were  in  force  before  that  time.  They  provide  sub- 
stantially as  follows  [see  Session  Laws  1917,  ch.  227]  :  No 
child  under  14  years  of  age  is  permitted  to  work  in  connection 
with  any  factory,  workshop,  theater,  mill,  cannery,  packing 
house,  or  operating  elevators,  nor  shall  a  child  between  the  ages 
of  14  and  16  be  permitted  to  work  in  any  business  when  school 
is  in  session.  They  shall  not  be  permitted  to  work  before  7 
a.  m.  or  after  6  p.  m.,  nor  more  than  7  hours  in  any  day,  nor 
more  than  48  hours  per  week.  Every  employer  shall  keep 
posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  near  the  entrance  exhibit  "A." 

The  superintendent  of  schools,  or  some  one  representing  him, 
shall  issue  a  work  permit.  The  form  prescribed  is  shown  in 
exhibit  "B." 

Before  he  issues  the  permit,  he  shall  receive,  examine,  ap- 
prove and  file  the  following  papers:  A  written  statement 
signed  by  the  person  for  whom  the  child  expects  to  work, 
marked  exhibit  "C,"  the  school  record  of  the  child  signed  by 
the  principal  showing  that  he  has  completed  the  elementary 
schools  marked  exhibit  "D,"  evidence  of  the  child's  age,  ex- 
hibit "E,"  if  between  14  and  16  years  of  age,  and  exhibit  "F" 
if  over  16  years  of  age.  A  child  who  has  not  completed  the 
course  of  study  may  receive  the  school  vacation  work  permit, 
marked  exhibit  "G."  This  last  permit  is  issued  only  when  all 
the  conditions  given  above  are  complied  with  except  that  the 
child  has  not  finished  the  common  school  course  of  study. 

These  laws  and  regulations  clearly  and  definitely  protect  the 
child.  For  the  protection  of  women  and  girls  [Gen.  Stat.  1915, 
p.  1183,  sec.  5947],  proprietors  of  stores  and  other  lines  of 

4— K.  U.  Bui.-  1093. 


50  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

business  employing  them  are  required  to  provide  chairs  or 
stools  for  their  use  when  not  actively  engaged  in  performing 
their  specific  duties.  The  commissioner  of  labor  is  made  re- 
sponsible for  the  enforcement  of  these  laws,  although  a  record 
of  the  permits  to  which  reference  was  made  above  is  kept  on 
file  in  the  office  of  the  superintendent  of  schools.  When  the 
employer  is  through  with  the  services  of  the  child,  the  permit 
is  sent  to  the  commissioner  of  labor  and  filed  in  his  oflfice. 

The  child  labor  laws  under  which  the  children  here  are  per- 
mitted to  engage  in  factory,  shop  and  other  lines  of  industrial 
activity  compare  favorably  with  the  laws  of  Massachusetts, 
Illinois,  New  York  and  Wisconsin  [Child  Labor,  Education, 
and  Mothers'  Pension  Laws  in  Brief] .  Night  work  is  univer- 
sally prohibited.  The  work  is  generally  confined  to  an  8-hour 
day  and  a  48-hour  week,  although  there  are  some  exceptions. 
In  extra  dangerous  occupations,  as  mines  and  quarries,  and 
cleaning  machinery  while  in  motion,  children  under  16  are 
prohibited  altogether  and  in  New  York  girls  under  21.  The 
chief  difference  is  that  in  the  older  states  the  law  is  made  spe- 
cifically to  apply  to  certain  lines  of  industry.  The  law  is  very 
well  enforced  here,  the  only  violations  occurring  where  children 
cross  the  line  into  Missouri. 

The  state  prohibitory  law  [Gen.  Stat.  1915,  p.  1087,  sec. 
5498]  is  in  force  in  Armourdale  and  is  quite  well  enforced. 
No  person  is  permitted  to  manufacture,  sell  or  barter  any 
spirituous,  malt,  vinous,  fermented  or  intoxicating  liquors. 
This  law  was  passed  many  years  ago,  and  generally  the  people 
here  support  it.  Recently  a  law  [Gen.  Stat.  1915,  p.  1098,  sec. 
5541]  has  been  enacted  making  a  second  conviction  of  the  vio- 
lation of  the  prohibitory  law  a  persistent  violation,  and  a  per- 
sistent violation  is  declared  to  be  a  felony.  This  makes  the 
bootlegger's  occupation  a  very  hazardous  one  and  helps  to  free 
all  the  people  from  his  menace. 

Baudy  houses  and  gambling  dens  are  neither  permitted  nor 
tolerated.  The  state  law  [Gen.  Stat.  1915,  p.  695,  sec.  3624], 
reinforced  by  the  city  ordinances  and  upheld  by  public  opinion, 
renders  these  practically  unknown.  Owners  are  not  permitted 
to  lease  property  to  be  used  for  these  purposes,  and  if  they  do 
are  subject  to  heavy  penalties.  This,  together  with  the  statu- 
tory provisions  against  the  proprietors  or  operators  of  these 
houses  and  gambling  dens,  keeps  the  town  practically  free 
from  these  destructive  agencies. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  51 

PROTECTION  AGAINST  ACCIDENTS. 

The  working  people  are  further  protected  while  at  their 
work  by  the  provisions  of  the  law  [Gen.  Stat.  1915,  p.  1168, 
sees.  5886  and  5895]  requiring  all  manufacturing  establish- 
ments to  provide  safeguards  and  devices  and  fixing  the  civil 
liability  of  the  individual  or  company  for  injuries  that  occur 
to  the  employees.  All  accidents  are  required  to  be  reported  to 
the  labor  commissioner,  whose  duty  it  is  to  investigate  the 
cause  of  the  injury  or  death  and  determine  whether  or  not 
proper  safety  appliances  had  been  installed. 

Labor  is  easy  to  obtain  here,  as  there  is  usually  plenty  of 
work  to  be  done.  The  employment  agencies  are  regulated  by 
statute  [Gen.  Stat.  1915,  p.  1162,  sees.  5858  to  5869  and  sees. 
5870  to  5872]  in  furnishing  employers  with  persons  to  be  en- 
gaged in  manual  labor,  clerical,  industrial,  commercial  or  busi- 
ness pursuits  and  in  securing  employment  for  such  described 
persons.  Eight  hours  is  a  day's  work,  so  fixed  by  law  for  all 
public  work,  whether  state,  county  or  municipal.  The  plants 
here  follow  this  statute  and  have  fixed  a  day's  work  as  8  hours 
and  pay  for  overtime. 

There  are  no  housing  laws  except  those  applying  to  hotels, 
rooming  houses,  and  apartment  houses.  The  plants  here  are 
as  a  rule  provided  with  well-lighted  and  ventilated  buildings, 
roomy  enough  so  the  work  can  be  done  without  crowding. 

WORKMEN'S  COMPENSATION. 

The  workmen's  compensation  act  [Gen.  Stat.  1915,  p.  1171 
and  following]  applies  only  to  the  employer's  trade  or  busi- 
ness on,  in  or  about  a  railway,  factory,  mine  or  quarry,  electric, 
building  or  engineering  work,  laundry,  natural  gas  plant, 
county  and  municipal  work  and  all  employments  requiring 
the  use  of  dangerous  or  inflammable  materials.  If  death  re- 
sults in  the  employment  and  the  workman  leaves  dependents 
they  are  entitled  to  recover  three  times  his  wages  for  the  pre- 
ceding year  up  to  $3,600,  but  not  less  than  $1,200.  The  wages 
are  to  be  computed  on  the  scale  he  was  receiving  30  days 
previous  to  the  accident,  or  would  have  been  receiving  if  he 
had  been  at  work.  If  the  workman  leaves  no  dependents,  the 
compensation  in  no  case  shall  exceed  $750.  The  law  gives  in 
detail  the  amount  of  compensation  to  be  paid  in  each  line  of 
employment  under  any  and  all  conditions. 


52 


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58  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

EXHIBIT  "G." 

IMPORTANT  NOTICE  TO  EMPLOYER. 

This  work  permit  is  issued  to  the  child  named  herein  in  accordance 
with  the  provisions  of  chapter  227,  Session  Laws  of  1917,  permitting  the 
employment  of  said  child  by  the  employer  named  hereon  only  during  the 
hours  in  which  the  public  school  is  not  in  session  in  the  district  in  which 
said  child  resides,  subject  to  the  following  limitations  of  the  act: 

This  work  permit  does  not  permit  the  employment  of  the  child  named 
herein  by  anyone  except  the  employer  named  herein.  Employment  by 
anyone  else  is  unlawful. 

This  child  must  not  be  employed  before  7  a.  m.,  nor  after  6  p.  m., 
nor  more  than  8  hours  in  any  one  calendar  day,  nor  more  than  48  hours 
in  any  one  week. 

The  employer  must  keep  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  near  the  prin- 
cipal entrance  in  the  establishment  where  this  child  is  employed,  per- 
mitted or  suffered  to  work  a  notice  stating  the  maximum  number  of 
hours  such  child  is  required  or  permitted  to  work  on  each  day  of  the 
week,  the  hours  of  commencing  and  stopping  work  and  the  hours  allowed 
for  dinner  and  other  meals.  The  form  of  such  notice  will  be  furnished 
by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  upon  request.  The  employment  of  this 
child  for  a  longer  time  in  any  day  than  so  stated  or  at  any  time  other 
than  stated  in  said  notice  is  unlawful. 

The  child  named  herein  must  not  be  employed,  permitted  or  suffered 
to  work  at  any  occupation  at  any  place  dangerous  or  injurious  to  life, 
limb,  health  or  morals. 

This  permit  may  be  revoked  at  any  time  that  it  shall  appear  that  it 
has  been  improperly  or  illegally  issued,  or  that  the  physical  or  moral 
welfare  of  such  child  can  be  best  served  by  the  revocation  of  this  permit. 

The  employer  must  keep  this  permit  on  file  and  accessible  to  any 
inspector  or  officer  charged  with  the  enforcement  of  this  act,  and  upon 
the  termination  of  the  employment  of  such  child  this  permit  must  be 
returned  by  the  employer  within  two  days  to  the  official  who  issued 
the  same. 

The  penalty  for  violating  any  of  the  requirements  of  this  act  or  per- 
mitting or  conniving  at  such  violation  is  a  fine  of  not  less  than  twenty- 
five  dollars  nor  more  than  one  hundred  dollars,  or  imprisonment  for  not 
less  than  thirty  days  nor  more  than  ninety  days. 

P.  J.  McBride,  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

A  full  compliance  with  the  Kansas  Child  Labor  Law  will  also  comply 
with  the  Federal  Child  Labor  Law  governing  the  shipment  of  products 
of  Child  Labor  in  Interstate  Commerce. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  59 


RECREATION. 

THE  great  criterion  of  the  past  decade  has  been  work  and 
financial  gain,  disregarding  the  essentials  that  contribute 
so  largely  to  man's  happiness,  contentment  and  physical 
health,  namely,  "Recreation."  The  term  means  more  than 
mere  amusement  and  past-time  sports.  It  carries  with  it  the 
finer  and  more  systematized  ideas  of  education,  high-moral 
standards,  organized  and  systematized  instruction,  training 
and  initiative  that  gives  ambition  to  the  soul  of  man  to  live 
and  thrive,  not  merely  exist,  and  to  encourage  others  to  live. 
It  instills  the  mind  of  the  individual  to  action,  therefore 
crowding  out  the  baser  and  more  degraded  evils  which  so 
often  wreck  and  ruin  the  life.  It  gives  the  mind  an  outlet 
and  permits  development  and  growth.  "All  work  and  no 
play  makes  Jack  a  dull  boy,"  is  as  true  to-day  as  ever  before. 

These  conditions  are  being  rapidly  realized,  a  new  reforma- 
tion is  taking  place.  No  longer  can  one  be  pessimistic,  segre- 
gated from  the  social  life  of  the  crowd,  take  no  part  in  the 
pace  of  advancement  and  be  a  factor  in  the  settling  of  the 
great  world's  problems. 

Now,  let's  turn  to  Armourdale  and  see  what  it  has  and  is 
doing  toward  recuperating  its  individuals,  the  wide-awake 
boys  and  girls,  and  the  young  men  and  women  on  whose 
shoulders  rests  the  great  responsibilities  of  the  future.  Does 
it  provide  a  playground  for  children,  furnish  amusement  such 
as  dancing,  swimming,  and  social  games  for  the  young  men 
and  women?  Does  it  maintain  any  public  buildings  for  social 
events?  These  and  many  other  questions  will  be  treated,  giv- 
ing the  facts  as  they  have  been  compiled  and  such  suggestions 
and  recommendations  as  would  be  worthy  of  consideration 
in  the  following  paragraphs. 

ATHLETICS. 

The  people  take  no  important  part  in  athletics.  There  are 
sufficient  reasons  to  justify  those  conditions. 

WHAT    IS    PROVIDED. 

The  grade  schools  do  a  small  amount  of  track  athletics. 
They  have  meets  during  the  fall,  winter  and  spring  seasons 
at  the  track  in  Shawnee  Park.  The  park  has  one  baseball 
diamond  with  a  backstop  that  insures  safety  to  passers-by. 


60  Bulletiyi  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

All  junior  high  school  and  senior  high  school  pupils  go  over 
to  Kansas  City  to  attend  school  because  there  are  no  high 
schools  in  Armourdale,  although  the  number  attending  is  very 
small  for  a  community  of  over  12,000  people. 

There  are  no  factory  teams,  town  teams,  or  community 
teams  in  practice  in  this  division. 

V^HAT   IS    NEEDED. 

The  boys  and  girls  of  high-school  age  v^ork  during  the 
summer  days.  When  these  young  people  come  from  work 
they  would  not  only  enjoy  some  form  of  recreation,  but  would 
also  find  it  very  beneficial.  Basket-ball,  volley  ball,  tennis  or 
croquet  courts  and  a  good  swimming  pool  would  serve  the  very 
best  for  evening  recreation.  Such  recreation,  an  absolute 
change  from  their  daily  work,  would  be  to  them  a  wonderful 
value.  Recreation  every  evening  will  result  in  more  efficient 
labor.  He  will  be  better  fitted  for  his  job  the  next  morning. 
A  continuance  of  that  better  work  is  bound  to  result  in  better 
wages.  Then  from  better  wages  we  can  infer  that  there  will 
be  better  living  in  the  homes  of  Armourdale. 

Recreation  for  the  laboring  youths  helps  the  industrial  end 
of  Kansas  City,  but  better  than  that,  it  gives  to  the  individual 
better  health ;  stimulates  vigor  and  energy,  and  all  together 
resulting  in  a  better  youth  and  growing  to  become  a  better 
citizen. 

Better  citizenship,  the  real  aim  of  our  present  educational 
system,  will  result  in  a  better  environment  in  which  the  next 
children  can  grow  to  manhood. 

PLAYGROUNDS. 

Play  is  a  social  inheritance.  The  children  of  primitive  ages 
gained  the  greater  part  of  their  education  from  play.  Among 
the  many  valuable  developments  of  the  child  life  derived  from 
play  are  imitation,  initiation,  and  imaginative  and  constructive 
ability.  Play  develops  everyone,  especially  the  children, 
morally,  mentally  and  physically.  A  child  with  the  advantages 
of  organized  play  unconsciously  receives  wonderful  training  of 
his  mind  and  body,  and  is  many  times  more  in  readiness  to  cope 
with  the  many  deeds  and  demands  of  a  healthy  mind  and  body 
that  arise  in  one's  manhood  or  womanhood  (as  the  case  may 
be) .  Such  development  is  best  derived  from  games,  as  basket- 
ball, baseball,  volley  ball,  tennis,  folk  and  singing  games,  re- 
lays, and  a  host  of  other  valuable  games  for  children  which 


Armourdale — A  City  Withiyi  a  City.  61 

may  be  found  in  books  of  games  and  play.  Two  good  authors 
of  books  for  singing  and  plays  are  Marie  Hofer  and  Elizabeth 
Burchnel. 

The  children  of  the  present  day  have  lost  much  of  their 
imagination  and  idealism  because  they  have  lost  some  of  their 
good  old  games  which  have  been  replaced  by  no  new  ones.  Not 
only  because  games  are  the  natural  ways  of  child  expression, 
but  also  because  they  are  interesting,  we  select  the  playground 
as  the  best,  most  scientific  recreative  place. 

Play  abolishes  the  compulsion  idea,  the  work  of  the  doing 
of  it,  when  they  are  allowed  (as  they  should  in  all  play)  to  use 
individuality  in  their  games  and  exercises.  Play  is  vitally 
necessary — but  it  must  be  organized  play.  Play  that  is  not 
organized  is  worse  than  no  play,  because  it  is  for  the  rest  and 
development  of  the  body  and  mind,  and  inorganized  play  could 
do  neither  successfully.  Even  though  the  individual  charac- 
teristics of  pupils  in  games  must  not  be  suppressed,  all  their 
play  should  be  supervised. 

The  world  is  slowly  awakening  to  the  fact  that  thousands  of 
little  children  are  draging  about  the  streets  and  alleys  from 
day  to  day  all  the  year  round  without  any  kind  of  work,  rec- 
reation, or  amusement,  whatsoever.  Imagine  the  enormous 
amount  of  human  energy  that  is  going  to  waste,  because  the 
public  home  has  not  been  able  to  see  a  need  of  a  child's  mind 
being  occupied.  Now,  who  is  to  blame,  their  parents?  No! 
Their  parents  are  working  hard  every  day  to  maintain  a  mere 
living  for  their  family.  The  parents  have  not  taken  time  to 
think  of  the  needs  for  child  play  and  of  recreative  places  for 
those  children.  Some  of  those  parents  were  reared  in  a  life 
even  more  crude  than  their  children  are  being  reared.  Such 
children,  grown  up  in  idleness  or  shop  grinding,  have  no  con- 
cept of  play.  How  can  they  be  expected  to  provide  a  means  of 
recreation  without  possessing  any  idea  of  their  own  of  play?  It 
seems  as  true  as  the  saying,  "You  cannot  give  any  one  else  the 
measles  if  you  don't  have  the  measles." 

Children  with  no  advantages  of  play  cannot  be  fully  de- 
veloped. Persons  not  fully  developed  are  not  normal.  It  is  no 
wonder  we  have  so  many  inefficient  laborer's  and  criminals  if 
we  have  not  been  giving  them  proper  training.  You  cannot  let 
a  high-spirited  horse  run  in  the  pasture  until  he  is  six  years 
old,  or  old  enough  to  work,  and  then  suddenly  hitch  him  to  the 


62  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

children's  buggy  and  expect  him  to  satisfy  their  demands  so 
well  as  if  he  had  been  under  training  since  he  was  two  years 
old.  He  doesn't  know  what  is  expected  of  him,  neither  does 
the  grown-up  without  having  proper  childhood  recreation  know 
what  is  expected  of  him. 

More  important  than  anything  else  needed  in  Armourdale 
is  a  suitable  place  to  teach  those  children  to  be  better  citizens. 
The  opportune  time  is  early  childhood.  The  children  of  Ar- 
mourdale are  not  getting  the  right  kind  of  recreation.  They 
are  actually  being  "cheated  out"  of  a  part  of  their  life  which 
rightfully  belongs  in  them.  Armourdale  is  a  large  manu- 
facturing center,  a  "city  within  a  city."  With  its  large  num- 
ber of  factories  running  every  day,  its  poor  housing  conditions 
and  small  yards,  there  has  never  been  sufficient  play  facilities 
for  the  children.  Play  is  the  most  serious  thing  to  a  child, 
hence  it  possesses  supreme  educational  value.  Many  of  the 
children  in  Armourdale  are  "standing  around,  loafing,  loiter- 
ing, or  idling."  Here  is  an  interesting  child  welfare  problem. 
Should  we  allow  that  best  part  of  our  Armourdale  population, 
those  little  boys,  to  drift  into  smoke  houses,  pool  halls,  or  at- 
tractions in  Kansas  City,  Mo.  ?  Let's  put  them  at  something  to 
do — playing,  gardening  or  otherwise  occupying  their  minds  in 
some  practical  and  valuable  way.  They  need  a  place  in  which 
to  play.  They  have  some  small  play  places,  but  not  nearly 
enough  to  supply  the  children  of  the  entire  section. 

Some  of  the  children  are  finding  recreation  in  the  yards  of 
the  four  schools,  the  river,  the  steel  yards  and  Shawnee  park. 
The  remaining  children  seek  enjoyment  in  the  public  streets. 

The  recreation  afforded  by  the  school  yards  is  poor.  The 
yards  are  bricked  and  children  find  them  quite  undesirable  for 
the  numerous  bumps  which  go  with  play.  The  only  equipment 
found  in  the  public  school  yards  are  bean  bags,  few  basket- 
balls, and  baskets  to  play  basket-ball,  but  no  other  playground 
apparatus.  Sand  piles  or  boxes,  a  few  slides,  swings,  teeters, 
bars  and  a  volley  ball  net  would  improve  them  wonderfully. 
Then  the  equipped  yards  could  be  used  to  an  advantage  after 
school  hours  and  during  the  summer  vacation.  A  Catholic 
sister  was  seen  taking  her  classes  to  the  park  and  supervising 
their  play  during  recesses. 

The  John  J.  Ingalls  public  school  is  a  small,  muddy,  un- 
equipped place  which  affords  some  recreation  for  a  part  of  the 


Armour  dale — A  City  Within  a  City.  63 

children.  Many  children  play  "down  at  the  river."  This  seems 
to  be  most  dangerous  from  two  standpoints ;  first,  that  of  drown- 
ing, and  next,  that  of  playing  about  in  the  sewage  drain  for  the 
city.  It  may  also  be  morally  dangerous,  as  there  is  no  super- 
vision of  their  play  at  the  river.  There  are  no  police  restric- 
tions regarding  the  time  limit  of  street  playing.  It  may  be- 
gin as  early  and  close  as  late  as  suits  the  wishes  of  the  children. 

The  only  park  in  Armourdale  is  Shawnee  park,  Shawnee 
park  is  a  free  park,  comprising  two  city  blocks  and  containing 
about  four  (4)  acres.  Fortunately,  this  beautiful  little  park 
is  located  in  the  center  of  this  community.  With  its  grass  and 
trees  it  is  as  good  a  natural  park  as  could  be  expected  of  it.  In 
the  park  are  a  couple  of  lawn  swings,  slides,  and  bars  in  one 
corner;  two  tennis  courts,  and  a  shelter  house  in  the  center. 
The  play  apparatus  is  sufficient  to  accommodate  about  twenty 
(20)  of  its  hundreds  of  youngsters.  Think  what  would  happen 
should  all  the  Armourdale  children  attempt  to  play  in  Shaw- 
nee park.  The  first  children  present  get  the  swings,  etc.  The 
later  ones  soon  weary  of  the  monopoly  and  leave,  discouraged, 
for  some  other  place  of  amusement.  Here  a  playground  super- 
visor could  play  a  most  important  part.  She  could  employ 
those  idle  minds  and  muscles  very  profitably.  She  could  be 
one  of  the  winter-term  teachers  who  chose  to  remain  there 
during  the  summer  months. 

Any  time  during  the  day  children  may  be  seen  within  a 
block  from  the  park,  playing  in  the  streets,  but  it's  the  only 
place  they  have  to  play. 

In  the  center  of  Shawnee  park  is  a  very  attractive,  com- 
fortable shelter  house  built  of  stone  with  a  tile  roof.  This  is 
open  on  all  sides,  porch  effect,  with  a  few  good  benches  around 
the  wall.  In  the  center  of  this  shelter  house  are  two  toilet 
rooms  separated  by  a  stone  wall. 

In  the  park  house  are  shower  baths.  The  baths  are  enjoyed 
by  almost  one  hundred  (100)  children  every  day  during  the 
summer  months.  The  bath  house  is  cared  for  by  a  woman.  No 
supervision  is  provided  at  the  shower  baths.  Sometimes  the 
water  from  the  baths  is  turned  out  to  form  a  wading  pool  for 
some  of  the  smaller  children,  who  eagerly  seek  that  for  enter- 
tainment. 

With  very  little  expense  to  the  city  this  park  could  be  made 
a  real  little  oasis  in  the  center  of  a  desert  of  industry.    It  would 


64  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

attract  the  people  because  it  would  be  a  pleasant  place  away 
from  the  factory  walls,  brick  pavements,  crowded  homes,  and 
the  din  of  the  daily  labor. 

A  valuable  asset  to  the  shelter  house  would  be  about  three 
large  rooms.  While  this  is  a  municipal  park,  the  board  of  di- 
rectors are  allowed  no  building  or  purchasing  funds,  and  the 
city  spends  nothing  for  any  playground  equipment  or  recrea- 
tive necessities.  One  smaller  room  could  be  utilized  for  books 
for  boys  and  girls.  The  books  may  be  donated  by  private  citi- 
zens, clubs,  organizations,  and,  in  addition,  it  could  be  made  a 
branch  of  the  city  library.  They  could  be  checked  out  by  the 
children  from  the  regular  playground  supervisor  for  a  definite 
period — one  week,  or  two  weeks.  A  second  room  could  be 
made  large  enough  to  be  equipped  for  both  manual  training 
and  cooking  and  sewing,  or  it  could  have  a  removable  partition. 
Older  children  would  soon  volunteer  to  assist  the  regular 
supervisor.  A  third  room,  the  largest  of  the  three,  could  be 
used  for  kindergarten  work,  and  a  classroom  for  handicrafts, 
as  drawing,  weaving,  etc.  It  could  be  used  for  indoor  play, 
singing,  folk  games,  story  telling  and  other  quiet  games  when 
the  weather  will  not  permit  the  use  of  the  lawn  and  trees.  This 
room  could  be  quite  valuably  used  as  a  community  center  for 
community  sings,  public  lectures,  stereopticons,  good  motion 
pictures,  Sunday  afternoon  and  evening  musical  concerts,  com- 
munity plays,  pageants,  and  a  general  meeting  place  for  com- 
munity activities.  It  could  be  used  for  community  fairs  or 
bazaars.  In  short,  the  location  is  ideal  and  the  need  very  great 
for  a  community  house,  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  12,000  people 
dwelling  in  Armourdale. 

At  present  Armourdale  has  no  public  lectures.  It  has  no 
place  to  give  them  outside  of  the  churches.  Lectures  are  edu- 
cational, and  any  locality  should  have  the  opportunity  of  hear- 
ing some  every  year.  There  are  public  musical  concerts  given 
in  Armourdale  every  other  Saturday  night.  Under  the  super- 
vision of  a  playground  instructor  the  children  (older  ones) 
could  organize  bands  and  orchestras. 

Supposing,  now,  that  we  are  to  get  such  a  park  as  has  been 
suggested,  we  will  consider  some  of  the  playground  activities. 
An  organized  recreative  park  should  have  a  definite  schedule  of 
the  days  when  to  come  to  the  park  for  special  kinds  of  work  or 
training.     For  instance,  canning  would  probably  be  taught 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  65 

from  2  p.  m.  to  4  p.  m.  every  other  day,  and  kindergarten  work 
would  be  given  from  8  a.  m.  to  10  a.  m.  and  from  2  :30  to  3  :30 
p.  m.  every  day,  etc. ;  mornings  are  more  preferably  given  over 
to  athletics,  games  and  sports  and  afternoons  reserved  for  in- 
dustrial vocations.  Kindergarten  work  should  be  given  several 
times  during  the  day,  but  only  for  short  periods  at  a  time. 
Under  a  good  supervisor  various  children  should  receive  valu- 
able working  knowledge  of  canning,  woodwork,  leatherwork, 
metalwork,  bead  work,  sewing,  weaving,  gardening  (vegetables 
and  flowers),  health  and  sanitation,  aids  to  injuries,  good 
reading,  clay-modeling,  drawing  and  painting,  designing,  dra- 
matics, and  music.  Of  course  all  of  this  cannot  be  accom- 
plished in  two  or  three  months,  but  the  child  who  takes  advan- 
tage of  such  a  recreative  park  will  at  the  age  of  twelve  surprise 
many  grown-ups  with  usable  knowledge  of  most  of  the  above 
mentioned  activities. 

Once  a  month  or  better,  twice  each  summer,  the  kinder- 
garten room  could  be  used  for  a  fair,  or  an  exhibition  of  the 
work  completed  by  the  children.  Nothing  is  much  more  de- 
lightful to  a  parent  than  the  seeing  of  their  child's  name  upon 
a  product.  Much  more  delighted  are  they  when  judges  have 
been  selected  to  determine  prize  winners  and  the  parent  sees 
a  ribbon  attached  to  his  or  her  child's  production.  Such  ex- 
hibits soon  attract  the  attention  of  business  firms,  organiza- 
tions, wealthy  private  people  who  will  begin  to  offer  prizes, 
and  donate  to  the  park  such  things  as  victrolas,  pianos, 
benches,  books,  etc.  Neither  is  it  impossible  to  expect  the 
usual  Sunday  movie  enthusiast  to  change  his  habits  to  going  to 
the  park.  The  park  could  be  a  beautiful  picnic  grounds  where 
baseball  games  and  music  concerts  could  be  given  Sunday 
afternoons. 

Installment  of  a  large  swimming  pool  would  be  quite  bene- 
ficial. Children,  under  supervision,  could  enjoy  it  during  cer- 
tain hours  in  the  day,  and  working  people  could  use  the  pool 
evenings  and  Sundays.  Every  one  could  use  it  in  winter  for 
an  ice  skating  rink. 

Some  interested  firms,  clubs,  or  other  organizations  might 
donate  fountains  about  which  children  could  have  concrete 
pools  for  water  flowers  and  fishes,  such  as  interest  the  general 
public  as  well  as  the  children.  It  is  only  natural  that  they 
crave  a  knowledge  of  plants  and  animals,  but  there  being  a 
fountain  would  serve  a  better  stimulant  for  their  interest. 

5 — K.  U.  H\il.--109:t 


66  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

Sand  piles  and  boxes,  and  work  benches  can  be  purchased 
or  made  by  larger  boys  in  the  manual  training  room,  for  the 
smaller  children,  to  whom  they  are  of  almost  inestimable 
value. 

These  improvements  should,  and  would  tend  to  better  the 
conditions  of  the  community.  The  smoke  house,  the  pool  hall, 
and  the  traffic  to  the  city  proper  for  amusement  would  be  fail- 
ing in  popularity,  and  the  problems  concerning  them  would 
solve  themselves.  The  "little  mother"  problem  will  begin  to 
solve  itself,  for  girls  can  take  younger  brother  or  sister  to  the 
park  where  he  will  be  cared  for  by  all.  These  progressive 
park  activities  soon  would  stimulate  a  movement  for  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  organizations  and  buildings;  for  Boy 
Scout  and  Girl  Scout  organizations,  mothers'  clubs,  girls'  clubs 
and  Camp  Fire  organizations. 

PICTURE  SHOWS  AND  DANCES. 

On  observing  the  conditions  that  exist  in  Armourdale,  the 
location  and  the  occupation  of  the  people,  one  can  readily  see 
the  type  of  amusement  common  to  the  mass  of  the  people. 

The  moving-picture  shows,  although  poor  to  mediocre  in 
type  and  questionable  for  the  elevating  of  standards,  seem  to 
thrive  and  increase  in  extremely  rapid  proportion  with  other 
places  of  recreation.  Over  350  out  of  1,805  families  of  Ar- 
mourdale attend  the  movies  as  their  place  of  entertainment. 

The  dance,  another  form  of  amusement,  is  commercialized 
in  every  instance,  as  far  as  the  survey  suggests,  except  the  one 
maintained  and  controlled  by  Peet  Brothers  soap  factory.  No 
pavilion  or  opera-house  is  provided  for  such  amusement,  there- 
fore most  of  the  people  either  go  to  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  or  to 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  for  this  sort  of  recreation.  This  seems  to 
be  very  unwise.  No  one  thing  could  do  more  for  the  uplifting 
of  the  people  than  to  provide  a  pavilion  where  the  young  men 
and  women  could  be  royally  entertained  and  at  the  same  time 
could  be  kept  out  of  the  place  where  questionable  institution 
exists.  Other  miscellaneous  features  of  amusement  are  the 
bowling  alleys,  pool  halls,  billiard  rooms  and  informal  gam- 
bling stands. 

This  form  of  amusement  demands  considerable  attention 
by  all  classes  of  people.  No  other  form  can  and  does  permit 
evil  to  crop  in  so  easily.    That  being  the  case,  all  are  concerned. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  67 

Y.  M.  C.  A.  AND  Y.  W.  C.  A. 

Armourdale,  with  its  laboring  classes,  needs  to  have  stronger 
recreational  facilities,  and  by  hearty  cooperation,  it  may  se- 
cure them. 

It  has  no  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  no  Y.  W,  C.  A.,  and  there  is  a  great 
need  for  these  organizations  in  furnishing  recreation  for  the 
young  of  the  community.  Since  Armourdale  lacks  not  only 
these  Christian  associations  but  is  also  lacking  in  other  recrea- 
tional features,  the  young  people  must  seek  diversion  at  the 
cheap  movies  and  the  pool  halls,  or  spend  their  leisure  time  in 
Kansas  City,  Mo.,  where  they  meet  with  immoral  and  degrad- 
ing influences,  where  the  places  of  amusement  are  questionable 
and  where  vice  is  wide-spread. 

It  is  the  business  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  Y.  W.  C.  A.  to  fur- 
nish recreation,  and  to  satisfy  the  craving  for  amusement  in 
the  lives  of  the  young  people.  Recreation,  right  or  wrong,  is 
so  closely  linked  with  the  moral  life  of  people,  both  young  and 
old,  that  it  must  not  be  overlooked. 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  has  in  its  power  not  only  to  furnish  recrea- 
tion to  its  young  manhood,  but  to  have  its  program  the  Boy 
Scout  movement,  which  is  such  a  vital  force  in  the  lives  of  the 
boys,  instilling  into  them  high  principles  and  ideals,  as  well  as 
providing  methods  of  recreation. 

The  Y.  W.  C.  A.  may  make  constructive  plans  for  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Camp  Fire  Girls,  thus  fulfilling  an  important 
mission  by  helping  the  girls  to  find  both  romance  and  beauty 
in  their  domestic  cares  and  duties,  while  provision  is  made  for 
their  physical  development  also. 

We  must  all  play  if  we  accomplish  our  tasks  as  we  should, 
and  the  Christian  associations  are  vital  factors  in  assisting  in 
these  problems  by  providing  clean  athletics,  games,  swimming 
pool,  high-grade  movies,  and  other  high-class  forms  of  amuse- 
ment. 

CHURCHES. 

There  is  one  mission  and  five  other  churches  which  are 
centers  of  many  social  functions.  These  often  give  ice-cream 
socials  in  the  park.  The  churches  now  approve  of  any  recrea- 
tion, if  supervised,  but  the  dances. 

Out  of  1,805  families,  20  percent  find  recreation  in  the 
church. 

Here  is  a  great  work  for  the  churches.     With  the  Sunday 


68 


Bulleti7i  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


schools  and  the  young  people's  organizations  as  a  medium, 
splendid  forms  of  recreation  could  be  afforded  the  people  of 
Armourdale,  thus  invigorating  their  social  and  recreational 
life. 

On  Sunday,  the  people  of  Armourdale  seek  various  methods 
of  spending  the  day.  A  few  attend  picture  shows,  others  at- 
tend church,  some  seek  recreation  in  walking  and  car-riding, 


J5APTIST   CHUK(^H. 

while  many  simply  stay  at  home.  A  well-equipped  library 
would  be  a  suitable  recreation  for  Sundays.  Provision  could  be 
made  for  this  in  a  community  house,  where  also  Sunday  musi- 
cals and  entertainments  could  be  held. 

CONCLUSION. 

1.  Armourdale  needs  a  community  building  in  which  every 
one  can  have  a  place  to  seek  pleasure.  This  could  be  easily 
done  by  appealing  to  the  factories,  people,  clubs,  property  hold- 
ers, and  appeal  to  the  city  to  levy  a  tax  to  keep  it  running. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


69 


2.  A  swimming  or  bathing  pool  in  which  every  one  may- 
have  the  opportunity  to  participate. 

3.  A  pavilion  for  social  dancing  and  community  bowling 
alleys. 

4.  The  park  to  be  revised  for  play  work  and  yearly  super- 
vision. 

5.  Supervision  of  all  the  functions  of  the  community  house. 

6.  To  organize  clubs  for  the  young  people  that  they  may  be 
entertained  and  yet  be  of  educational  value. 

7.  To  establish  several  musical  clubs  in  order  to  appeal  to 
the  aesthetic  side  of  life. 


WE    WANT   SPACK    1X)U   OUK    I'LOWEUS. 


70  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


CLUBS  AND  SOCIETIES. 

ARMOURDALE,  as  a  factory  and  manufacturing  center,  has 
poor  housing  conditions,  streets  crowded  with  traffic,  un- 
sanitary surroundings,  and  because  of  the  packing  houses, 
foul  odors  and  impure  air. 

The  people  are  a  hardworking,  honest  group  of  people,  who 
take  no  important  part  in  recreation — not  as  much  as  they 
should. 

In  compiling  the  statistics  gathered  in  the  social  survey  of 
Armourdale,  the  following  table  resulted.  Families  with  mem- 
bers belonging  to : 

Fraternal   organizations    226 

Labor  unions    194 

Insurance  orders   102 

Ladies'  auxiliaries 62 

Mother's  clubs   7 

Total -.593 

The  above  table  shows  that  there  are  few  clubs  or  societies 
in  Armourdale  maintained  for  purely  recreational  purposes. 
Those  belonging  to  labor  unions,  fraternal  organizations  and 
insurance  orders,  do  so  for  the  most  part  from  the  standpoint 
of  self-protection  and  self-interest  in  their  various  lines  of 
work,  as  insurance  in  case  of  accident,  sickness  or  death. 
Their  membership  in  these  orders  therefore  is  in  the  nature 
of  a  financial  investment,  rather  than  for  recreation.  Conse- 
quently, it  is  obvious  that  the  citizenship  as  a  whole  obtain 
their  recreation  along  other  lines  than  what  is  usually  known 
as  recreational,  social,  educational  or  cultural  organizations, 
leagues  or  clubs. 

Aside  from  the  small  nucleus  of  seven  women  composing  a 
mother's  club,  and  a  small  club  of  sixteen  girls  organized  by 
one  of  the  teachers  of  the  public  schools,  there  seems  to  be  no 
organization  in  this  population  of  12,000  people,  except  those 
within  the  packing  plants  themselves,  that  is  designed  to  up- 
lift, recreate,  or  educate. 

There  is  a  great  need  for  such  organizations  in  any  con- 
gested factory  district.  By  giving  proper  amusement,  by  fur- 
nishing wholesome  entertainment  of  all  kinds,  by  giving  those 
things  to  which  youth  naturally  turns,  and  which  it  must  have ; 
by  providing  suitable  opportunities  and  suitable  environment 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  71 

for  the  majority  of  the  working  girls  and  young  men ;  to  de- 
velop that  force  of  character  and  that  breadth  of  view  upon 
the  problems  of  life  which  will  enable  them  to  withstand 
temptation  when  it  comes,  and  keep  their  hearts  clean,  and 
unspotted  from  the  world;  by  teaching  them  along  the  voca- 
tional lines  of  manual  training  and  home  economics,  and  pre- 
paring them  for  the  holy  vocation  which  they  are  finally  to 
follow,  that  of  motherhood  and  fatherhood,  society  will  per- 
form a  duty  which  it  owes  to  the  young  people  of  any  com- 
munity, when,  by  economic  necessity,  they  are  forced  out  of 
their  schools  and  their  homes  into  the  industries.  It  is .  a 
social  service  that  will  repay  society  many  fold,  and  social 
workers  are  solving  this  big  problem  by  finding  out  little  by 
little  how  to  inspire  uplift  and  enthuse  the  small  group. 

Miss  Taylor,  the  Y,  W.  C.  A.  industrial  secretary,  realizes 
this  need,  and  is  working  toward  clubs  among  the  industrial 
women. 

A  few  years  ago,  Peet  Bros.,  seeing  the  need,  tried  to  or- 
ganize clubs,  but  failed  because  they  did  not  create  a  desire  in 
the  minds  of  the  girls  themselves  for  such  an  organization. 
Proctor  &  Gamble  had  the  same  experience.  At  present  noon- 
day meetings  are  being  conducted  at  Peet  Bros.,  Proctor  & 
Gamble,  Wilson  &  Co.,  Morris,  Fowler,  Armour,  and  the  Lee 
Mercantile  Co.  These  meetings  last  from  one-half  to  three- 
quarters  of  an  hour  and  consist  of  entertaining  programs, 
music,  reading  and  inspirational  talks.  Wilson  &  Co.  and 
Peet  Bros,  send  cars  for  the  entertainers,  and  are  also  having 
various  out-door  activities,  such  as  "hikes"  for  the  girls,  tennis 
courts,  gymnasium,  dancing  and  other  activities;  Peet  Bros, 
and  Wilson  &  Co.  have  one  woman,  who  has  classes  for  girls. 
The  greater  number  of  the  girls  live  in  Armourdale  and  are  of 
American  families. 

The  social  survey  made  shows  that  ordinarily  the  form  of 
recreation  sought  is  the  "movie,"  and  this  is  not  of  the  highest 
type.  This  idea  of  recreation  should  be  replaced  by  a  concep- 
tion of  real  recreation  at  its  true  value. 

United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  William  T.  Har- 
ris is  reported  to  have  once  said  that  a  nation's  character 
is  largely  determined  by  the  things  which  affect  the  minds  of 
its  youth  between  the  hours  of  dusk  and  bedtime.  If  those 
hours  are  spent  in  a  high-minded,  wholesome  atmosphere,  the 
nation    would    advance    socially,    morally,    intellectually    and 


72  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

spiritually,  but  if  spent  in  a  way  that  tends  to  tear  down  and 
deaden  the  sensibilities  to  the  finer  things  of  life,  the  nation 
degenerates. 

The  people  of  Armourdale  who  are  working  in  the  factories 
have  enough  of  the  hard  work,  drudgery,  and  deadening  mo- 
notony of  life  in  their  long  hours  of  labor.  Consequently,  the 
hours  of  recreation  should  be  of  especial  importance  to  them, 
as  it  is  the  only  available  time  for  many  of  them  to  have  any 
privilege  of  obtaining  some  of  the  higher  enjoyments  of  life. 

For  those  who  feel  the  need  of  and  desire  for  music,  orches- 
tras and  music  clubs  should  be  organized.  For  those  who 
wish  to  prepare  themselves  more  fully  for  life's  duties,  classes 
in  home  economics  and  domestic  art,  in  manual  training,  lec- 
ture courses  along  scientific  lines,  or,  for  the  thinking,  labor- 
ing man,  courses  in  university  extension  work,  on  labor  prob- 
lems, economic  conditions,  or  civic  sanitation. 

Tuberculosis  once  largely  had  its  hold  on  Armourdale.  Con- 
ditions are  some  better,  but  sanitary  measures  should  be  en- 
forced and  the  people  thoroughly  interested  in  problems  of 
civic  betterment.  The  factories  and  packing  plants  are  realiz- 
ing this  and  doing  as  much  as  they  well  can  for  the  workers. 
Miss  Gladys  Beck,  a  teacher,  is  helping  the  Proctor  &  Gamble 
girls. 

Peet  Bros.,  soap  factory,  pays  a  good  salary  to  a  service 
woman,  who,  together  with  a  popular  girl  from  among  the  soap 
wrappers  as  assistant,  to  help  the  girls  and  to  keep  recorded 
information  concerning  each  of  the  girls,  obtained  by  inter- 
viewing them  individually.  There  is  a  service  room  provided 
with  books,  easy  chairs,  swings,  a  victrola,  and  a  piano.  She  is 
having  a  course  of  lectures  given,  "first  aid"  work,  "care,  selec- 
tion and  purchasing  of  clothes,"  personal  hygiene,  home  sanita- 
tion and  moral  questions.  Seventy  girls  signified  an  interest 
in  such  lectures,  and  also  there  were  requests  for  educative 
recreation  rather  than  mere  amusement.  This  indicates  the 
kind  of  recreation  which  should  be  provided  for  them. 

The  Wilson  Packing  Company  also  has  a  service  woman  to 
see  to  the  needs  of  the  girls. 

At  present  there  are  no  public  lecture  courses  or  evening 
classes  given.  Band  concerts  are  given  once  a  week  during 
June,  July  and  August.  There  are  no  local  musical  organiza- 
tions, but  there  should  be. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  73 

The  school  buildings  should  be  remodeled  and  equipped  for 
social  center  uses  and  branch  libraries  established  in  each  one. 

Twentieth  century  civilization  is  moving  at  a  tremendous 
rate.  A  complete  social  and  economic  readjustment  is  being 
brought  about.  Great  trusts  have  been  formed.  The  great 
manufacturing  and  business  centers  have  called  the  young 
people  from  village  and  farm,  and  a  new  life  in  the  environs  of 
the  city  has  sprung  up.  Such  advance  has  been  largely  due  to 
the  inventive  and  courageous  functioning  of  man  in  the  in- 
vention and  employment  of  gigantic  machinery.  In  this  great 
and  mad  rush  for  commercial  and  financial  gain,  here  and 
there  among  men  and  women  are  fine  souls,  not  too  busy  with 
the  necessities  and  cares  of  business  life  to  realize  that  these 
things  of  life  which  enhance  courage  and  hope,  which  fortify 
honesty  and  integrity,  which  protect  innocence  and  purity 
must  be  promulgated;  in  other  words,  even  in  a  life  of  com- 
mercialism the  spiritual  forces  of  life  must  be  taken  into  ac- 
count, as  they  are  the  leaven  that  leavens  the  whole  lump.  This 
the  organized  club  or  league  may  help  do. 


KANSAS  AVENUE. 


74  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 


EDUCATION. 

THERE  are  1,805  families  from  whom  reports  supplement- 
ing the  regular  published  report  of  the  schools  were  ob- 
tained living  in  the  area  comprising  the  district.  In  these 
there  are  1,790  children  between  6  and  16  years  of  age.  In 
these  families  there  are  983  children  below  6  years  of  age. 

PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

Educational  facilities  for  these  children  are  furnished  by 
four  schools  for  white  children,  one  for  colored  children.  One 
school  is  a  parochial  school  maintained  by  the  Catholic  parish. 

Out  of  the  1,805  families,  the  Morse  school  serves  180 
families,  668  pupils ;  the  Fiske  school  173  families,  517  pupils ; 
the  Ingalls  school  148  families,  638  pupils;  the  Phillips  (col- 
ored) 46  families,  69  pupils;  and  the  St.  Thomas  (parochial) 
125  families. 

Children  from  75  families  attend  the  junior  high  school  and 
from  21  families  the  senior  high  school. 

Kindergarten  schools  are  maintained  in  the  three  schools  for 
white  children  with  a  total  enrollment  of  about  70  pupils. 

Educational  activities  are  confined  to  the  traditional  school 
subjects  taught  in  a  manner  common  to  such  schools.  There 
should  be  opportunity  for  those  pupils  who  do  not  complete  the 
regular  school  to  take  up  trade  education  and  at  the  same  time 
continue  in  the  school.  A  night  school  is  maintained  in  an- 
other part  of  the  city  and  a  central  junior  high  school  in  which 
sewing,  cooking  and  wood  work  are  taught,  but  the  proportion 
of  families  (75  out  of  1,805)  is  far  too  small.  Especially 
significant  is  the  fact  that  no  industrial  education  is  offered  in 
this  almost  purely  industrial  and  trade  district  of  the  city. 
There  is  also  need  of  socialization  of  the  school  work  in  home 
gardening  and  beautifying  building  and  grounds.  There  should 
also  be  opportunity  for  vocational  guidance.  This  last  should 
be  considered  with  vocational  opportunities  in  the  district  and 
the  school  take  over  the  problem  of  pupil  employment.  There  is 
great  need  of  recreational  education  in  the  district,  in  the 
form  of  community  playgrounds  under  the  control  of  the  city 
schools.  Motion  pictures  shown  in  school  buildings  as  well  as 
community  pageants  and  theatricals. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


75 


It  would  seem  that  the  truancy  law  of  the  state  was  ef- 
ficiently enforced  so  that  the  most  of  the  children  were  kept 
regularly  in  school.  The  district  is  looked  after  by  the  truancy 
officer  who  is  on  duty  ten  hours  daily.  He  is  appointed  by  the 
superintendent  of  schools  and  paid  out  of  the  general  fund  of 
the  school.  Since  the  officers  are  constantly  on  duty  there  is 
seldom  need  for  prosecution. 


ST.   THOMAS    SCHOOL. 


ADMINISTRATION. 

The  board  of  education  consisting  of  six  members  is  nomi- 
nated and  elected  by  the  voters  of  the  city  at  large.  Three 
members  are  elected  at  the  general  city  election  held  in  April 
of  each  odd-numbered  year  and  hold  their  office  for  the  term 
of  four  years  and  until  their  successors  are  duly  elected  and 
qualified.  The  term  of  office  begins  on  the  first  Monday  in 
August  succeeding  their  election.  No  member  of  the  board  of 
education  receives  any  pay  or  emolument  for  his  services. 


76  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

There  are  six  committees:  (1)  Finance  and  accounts,  (2) 
teachers  and  salaries,  (3)  buildings  and  grounds,  (4)  pur- 
chase and  supplies,  (5)  janitors  and  engineers,  (6)  public 
library  and  supplementary  reading. 

The  clerk  of  the  board  is  the  executive  officer  pertaining  to 
all  business  matters  and  performs  all  the  duties  incumbent 
upon  him  by  statute  and  furnishes  the  board  or  any  of  its  com- 
mittees required  information  from  the  records  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  board  or  proper  committees. 

The  total  expense  of  public  education  is  given  in  1916  as 
$734,379.98.  The  total  number  students  enrolled  in  grade  and 
high  schools,  15,368.  The  money  for  school  fund  is  derived 
from  taxes,  loans,  fines  and  private  tuition.  The  amount 
spent  for  teachers  and  supervisors  is  given  as  $365,265.99, 
and  to  building  and  equipment  $118,775.46.  The  total  cost 
per  pupil  enrolled  w^as  $47.78. 

Text  books  are  not  furnished  free  to  the  pupils,  but  supple- 
mentary readers  are  used  in  the  class  rooms  only. 

EFFICIENCY. 

The  following  tables  show  the  enrollment  by  schools,  en- 
rollment by  grades  and  the  seating  capacity  of  each  school : 


Armowdale — A  City  Within  a  City. 


77 


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78  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

Reference  to  the  above  tables  will  show  that  conditions  in 
the  public  schools  are  quite  satisfactory  as  to  the  seating 
capacity.  Contrasting  the  pupils  belonging  to  the  school  with 
the  seating  capacity,  in  no  instance  do  we  find  more  pupils 
than  seats.  As  to  whether  the  rooms  have  more  seats  than 
there  should  be  is  not  indicated  by  the  data.  From  the  stand- 
point of  current  educational  theory,  in  some  instances  there 
seems  to  be  an  overly  large  total  enrollment  per  teacher.  The 
average  total  enrollment  of  pupils  per  teacher  is  42 ;  the  aver- 
age daily  attendance  per  teacher  is  30.  This  indicates  a  pos- 
sible lack  of  enforcement  of  the  truancy  law,  an  undue  amount 
of  sickness  or  a  moving  population.  The  figures  given  are 
only  applicable  to  the  first  six  grades ;  the  older  children  who 
are  in  school  attend  the  junior  high  school,  which  is  not  situ- 
ated in  Armourdale. 

In  one  of  the  schools  there  seems  to  be  a  classification  of  the 
Mexican  children  into  one  group  of  forty.  There  is  a  vocation 
school  in  the  John  J.  Ingalls  school  for  the  Americanization  of 
foreigners,  who  are  taught  English,  laws  and  customs  and  city 
government  three  nights  per  week.  Deaf  children  are  pro- 
vided for  by  a  school  situated  outside  of  the  district.  There 
seems  to  be  no  provision  for  mental  defectives.  It  would  seem 
that  an  unclassified  room  or  some  provision  should  be  made  for 
these  people.  There  is  a  dental  inspection  once  a  year,  pre- 
sumably by  a  local  dentist.  The  work  for  the  schools  is  taken 
care  of  by  the  nurses  association.  Data  is  not  available  as  to 
the  number  of  children  who  repeated  the  grade  last  year. 
The  low  percentage  of  daily  attendance  would  lead  one  to  be- 
lieve that  there  would  be  many  pupils  of  this  class.  There 
are  evening  schools,  but  these  are  not  in  Armourdale.  There 
are  three  kindergartens  with  a  very  small  attendance,  indi- 
cating a  lack  of  interest  on  the  part  of  the  patrons.  There  is 
no  kindergarten  for  colored  children.  Manual  training  and 
domestic  science  are  taught  to  the  pupils  above  the  sixth  grade 
in  the  junior  high  school,  which  is  not  in  Armourdale.  The 
course  of  study  indicates  that  they  are  allowed  a  large  free- 
dom of  elections  in  the  junior  high  school,  and  these  courses 
are  optional. 

Teachers  in  Armourdale  must  be  graduates  of  high  schools, 
take  one  year  of  normal  training  course  and  substitute  one 
year.  If  not  trained  in  Kansas  City  they  must  have  had  at 
least  three  years  of  experience  in  other  systems. 


Armou7'dale — A  City  Within  a  City.  79 

School  reports  are  issued  monthly  and  are  fairly  compre- 
hensive. 

There  is  a  lack  of  intensive  supervision  other  than  that 
given  by  building  principals,  especially  in  the  colored  school. 
From  the  monthly  report  studied  there  w^ere  no  visits  from  the 
supervisors  to  the  colored  schools  and  few  to  the  others. 

The  report  gives  the  indication  of  a  good  grade  city  school 
system  for  the  poorer  districts.  More  supervision,  better  play- 
ground supervision,  a  stricter  enforcement  of  the  truancy  law 
might  add  to  its  efficiency.  This  is  further  treated  under 
scope  of  the  schools. 

PRIVATE  SCHOOLS. 

There  is  one  private  school  in  Armourdale,  St.  Thomas, 
which  is  supported  by  the  Catholic  people  of  the  district, 
serving  125  families  of  the  1,805  reported  upon. 

This  school  suffers  in  comparison  with  the  public  schools  of 
the  district  in  every  way.  The  building  is  poorly  lighted  and 
ventilated,  rooms  small,  halls  narrow  and  dark.  There  is  no 
playground  for  play  and  recreation.  Equipment  was  lacking. 
Taking  the  points  into  consideration  that  were  mentioned  in 
the  care  of  the  public  school,  it  suffers  by  comparison  with 
them. 

LIBRARIES. 

There  is  great  need  for  some  sort  of  library  in  Armourdale. 
The  only  opportunities  for  reading  are  the  periodicals  pur- 
chased, the  meager  school  libraries  and  the  public  library  of 
Kansas  City,  which  is  a  long  distance  from  this  district.  The 
school  libraries  are  not  for  general  reading,  are  not  open  to 
the  public  nor  at  other  than  regular  school  hours.  This  dis- 
trict should  have  at  least  a  branch  station  of  the  city  library. 
One  of  the  school  buildings  could  be  used  to  house  it,  as  there 
are  unused  rooms.  Such  a  branch  could  be  made  to  serve  the 
community  by  furnishing  fiction,  adult  and  juvenile  and  tech- 
nical works  on  the  industries  of  the  district. 

FINE  ARTS. 

Armourdale  has  no  advantages  in  the  lines  of  art  and  music. 
The  only  opportunity  given  in  this  line  is  given  by  a  very  few 
private  music  teachers  and  the  teachers  in  the  public  schools. 
So  little  time  is  devoted  to  fine  arts  in  the  public  schools  that 
a  community  is  unfortunate  if  there  are  no  other  means  of 


80  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

developing  in  this  line.  In  this  field  there  is  a  great  oppor- 
tunity for  girls'  and  women's  clubs,  as  discussed  under  the 
report  on  recreation. 

THE  PRESS. 

Armourdale  has  only  one  local  newspaper,  the  Armourdale 
Press.  The  Kansas  City  Star,  Post  and  Journal  are  very 
widely  read.  These  papers  are  in  sympathy  with  civic  im- 
provements and  take  the  lead  in  reform  movements.  Es- 
pecially is  this  true  of  the  Star  in  regard  to  all  movements  in 
education. 

The  following  summary  gives  the  number  of  homes  reported 
on  as  reading  newspapers  and  magazines : 

Families. 

Kansas  City  Star : 1,259 

Kansas  City  Post 567 

Kansas  City  Journal 26 

Armourdale  Press   102 

Herald 66 

Pictorial  Review 66 

Collier's    39 

Ladies  Home  Jourtial 46 

Saturday  Evening  Post 11 

Woman's  Home  Companion 18 

Woman's  World   13 

American  Magazine 15 

Railroad  Magazine 10 

Needle  Craft 10 

Twenty-two  other  magazines 10 

From  the  table  above  we  see  that  Armourdale  is  very  in- 
terested in  local  conditions  from  the  number  of  newspapers 
read  in  the  homes.  Also  the  housewives  are  doing  as  well 
from  the  number  of  magazines  taken  for  the  home.  While  this 
report  does  not  cover  every  home,  yet  it  tends  to  show  the 
ratio  of  the  various  papers  and  magazines  read. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  81 


REMEDIAL  AND  CORRECTIVE  AGENCIES. 

ARMOURDALE  has  no  organized  association  of  its  own,  but 
comes  under  the  supervision  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  or- 
ganized charity  association.  A  baby  clinic  is  provided  for  dur- 
ing the  summer  months  where  children  may  be  brought  and 
cared  for.  Lectures  are  given  on  child  care — all  under  the 
charge  of  a  visiting  nurse. 

JUVENILE  DELINQUENCY.* 

The  amount  of  juvenile  delinquency  in  Armourdale  is  not  as 
great  as  in  many  parts  of  Kansas  City,  Kan.  This  is  in  part 
owing  to  the  larger  number  of  permanent  residents.  The 
larger  proportion  of  offenders  comes  from  certain  classes 
rather  than  from  any  particular  district.  These  classes  are 
usually  grouped  around  certain  industrial  plants,  of  which 
there  are  several  in  every  part  of  Kansas  City.  Ninety-five 
percent  of  the  burglaries  in  Kansas  City,  Kan.,  are  committed 
by  children.  Of  these  children  the  worst  offenders  are  Mexi- 
cans and  negroes. 

The  average  number  of  cases  brought  into  the  juvenile  court 
in  one  year  is  184.6.  Of  this  number  only  74  percent  are  de- 
linquents, the  remaining  26  percent  being  neglected  and  de- 
pendent children.  Larceny,  truancy,  and  trespass  are  the  usual 
charges.  Most  of  the  delinquent  children  come  from  homes 
where  the  parents  are  divorced  or  one  of  them  is  dead.  One  of 
the  main  causes  of  deliriquericy  is  the  deficiency  of  the  child 
labor  laws.  These  laws  do  not  deal  adequately  with  child 
labor  on  the  streets.  When  children  finish  the  common  school 
before  they  are  sixteen  years  old  they  cannot  be  compelled 
to  attend  the  high  school,  neither  can  they  obtain  employment. 
The  time  spent  in  idleness  between  school  and  work  leads  to 
much  crime. 

Kansas  City  spends  annually  approximately  $2,233  in  the 
juvenile  court  for  salaries  for  probation  officers,  expenses  and 
fees. 

Municipal  playgrounds  with  supervised  play  would  go  far 
towards  the  elimination  of  crime  in  this  vicinity.  Wholesome 
employment  for  boys  and  girls  in  their  early  teens  is  much 
needed. 

*  Information  received  from  judge  of  juvenile  court. 
6 — K.  U.  Bui. — 1093 


82  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

NURSES  ASSOCIATION. 

There  is  no  nurses  association  in  Armourdale  but  Kansas 
City,  Kan.,  has  a  large  association,  and  by  reporting  cases  to 
this  association,  any  person  or  family  in  Armourdale  can  re- 
ceive help.  The  organization  started  in  Armourdale  in  1913 
with  one  nurse,  and  later  moved  to  Kansas  City.  There  are 
seven  graduate  registered  nurses,  two  of  whom  are  colored. 

The  institution  is  supported  by  private  subscription  and  a 
small  monthly  amount  of  $20  from  the  county  and  $16  from 
the  city.  Fees,  from  five  cents  to  seventy-five  cents  per  call, 
are  collected  where  finances  permit,  but  there  are  hundreds  of 
visits  made  free  of  charge. 

During  the  year  1918,  the  staff  averaged  four  nurses  who 
made  6,903  calls  on  1,633  patients,  and  1,038  visits  were  made 
during  the  month  of  March.  These  visits  were  made  among 
the  people  from  all  walks  of  life,  but  the  industrial  workers 
formed  a  large  part  of  this  number.  During  the  year  1918 
they  took  care  of  501  children,  116  of  them  infants;  39  pre- 
natal cases  and  134  maternity  cases.  This  does  not  include  the 
150  calls  made  during  the  first  influenza  epidemic. 

The  institution  is  aiding  the  state  in  its  fight  against  social 
diseases.  Its  special  line  is  child  welfare  or  prenatal  work  and 
tuberculosis.  They  receive  their  information  through  other 
associations,  as  Parent  Teachers'  Association,  health  officers, 
Metropolitan  Life  Insurance  Co.,  charity  organizations,  etc. 
They  have  a  good  system  of  card  cataloging. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  83 


FORM  OF  CARD:    T.  B. 

(Visiting   Nurse   Association,   Kansas   City,    Kan.) 


District Nurse Case  No... 

Name Address Floor. 

Age Sex Birthplace 

Nationality:    Father Mother 

Length  of  residence Social  status 

Occupation 

Physician Address 

Source  of  call 

Diagnosis Complications 

Date  first  visit Date  last  visit No.  visits... 


(a)  Up  How  long  Home 

(6)  In  bed sick  first  visit conditions. 

Results Remarks 


Doctor's  orders 


HISTORY  CARD. 

(Nurse's  card,  first  visit.) 


District Nurse Case  No.... 

Name Address Floor. 

Age Sex Birthplace 

Nationality:    Father Mother 

Length  of  residence Social  status 

Occupation 

Physician Address 

Source  of  call 

Diagnosis Complications 

Date  first  call Home  conditions 

Policy  No Date  issue 

Date  last  payment Agent 


(a)  Up                       Hovi^long  Doctor's 

(6)  In  bed sick  first  visit ; orders.... 


84  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

This  association  is  the  only  agency  in  Kansas  City  organized 
to  give  bedside  care  by  graduate  registered  nurses  to  the  sick 
in  their  homes,  and  to  instruct  the  families  in  hygiene  and 
nursing.  Their  broad  conception  of  the  social  and  economic 
principles  that  are  related  to  the  home  life  of  the  industrial 
class  enables  them  to  help  in  the  improvement  of  the  living 
conditions. 

Their  work  is  of  great  value  to  the  city  in  reducing  the  in- 
fant death  rate  and  improving  the  health  of  the  coming  gen- 
eration, therefore  they  should  have  all  the  aid  necessary.  They 
need  a  full-time  health  officer,  the  tax  of  one-fifth  mill  allowed 
all  other  towns,  and  a  larger  number  of  graduate  nurses. 

ASSOCIATED  CHARITIES. 

This  organization  employs  only  two  persons,  who  do  all  the 
work  such  as  home  visiting,  investigating  and  finding  employ- 
ment for  the  unemployed.  Common  labor  is  all  that  most  of 
the  people  who  apply  from  Armourdale  can  do,  so  it  is  taken  for 
granted  that  they  will  return  if  they  do  not  secure  the  position 
for  which  they  apply. 

The  citizens  of  Arnfiourdale  prefer  loans  to  grants  and  are 
loyal  in  paying  hack  the  money.  There  are  very  few  calls 
either  for  financial  aid  or  advice.  The  probable  reason  is  that 
the  people  do  not  know  of  the  work  of  the  organization. 

Report  of  28  families,  1918,  given  aid  in  Armourdale : 

Families.  , 

Fuel 16 

Groceries    15 

Medical  aid   2 

Clothing   5 

Rent    2 

Reasons  for  aid.  Oases. 

Desertion  by  husband 4 

Illness  of  father 6 

Illness  in  family 6 

Death  of  father  4 

Inability  to  secure  work 3 

Various  (poor  management,  coal  shortage,  divorce)  .  .   5 

Report  of  85  families  last  5  years  in  Armourdale : 

Reasons  for  aid.  Percent. 

Death  of  fathers   11.7  + 

Illness  of  father 16.4  + 

Family  illness 18.8  + 

Deserted  by  father  or  husband 11 . 8 — 

Shiftlessness  and  drink 10.6 — 

Inability  to  secure  work 10.5  + 

Other  causes  (old  age,  strikes,  poor  management)  .  .  20.0 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  85 

The  Salvation  Army  leaves  all  the  work  in  Armourdale  to 
the  Associated  Charities. 

The  Provident  Association  is  in  Kansas  City,  Mo.,  and  does 
not  answer  any  calls  from  Armourdale.  They  turn  over  all 
requests  to  the  Associated  Charities  of  Kansas  City,  Kan. 

THE  SOCIAL  SERVICE  EXCHANGE  BUREAU. 

The  bureau  is  a  general  clearing  house  for  all  cases  and 
makes  duplications  practically  impossible  because  anyone  may 
find  just  what  agencies  are  helping  a  family  or  have  helped  it 
in  the  past. 

They  have  20,000  cases  on  file  for  the  time  since  1910.  They 
had  50,000  cases  before  1910. 

RED  CROSS  HOME  SERVICE. 

At  the  time  this  survey  was  made,  April,  1919,  the  Red  Cross 
home  service  organization  has  aided  one  hundred  and  twenty 
(120)  families,  thirty-five  (35)  of  whom  were  aided  financially. 

As  far  as  the  work  of  the  home  service  oflJice  is  concerned, 
Armourdale  compares  favorably  with  the  other  parts  of  Kan- 
sas City,  Kan.  There  are  no  employment  records  kept,  as  there 
is  not  enough  help  in  the  office. 

UNITED  STATES  EMPLOYMENT  BUREAU. 

This  office  is  concerned  in  aiding  the  returning  soldiers  to 
find  positions.  The  soldiers  are  asked  to  fill  out  cards  regard- 
ing their  need  for  positions,  just  before  they  are  discharged 
from  the  service.  These  cards  are  sent  to  their  home  office, 
the  secretary  at  the  office  writes  to  their  homes  asking  whether 
they  need  any  help  in  getting  their  old  positions  or  new  ones. 
There  were  only  three  applications  from  Armourdale  and  em- 
ployment was  found  for  them. 

The  employment  bureau  has  more  positions  to  fill  than  they 
have  men  to  fill  them. 


86  Bulletin  of  the  Universitij  of  Kansas. 


RELIGIOUS  ACTIVITIES. 

THERE  are  five  church  buildings  in  Armourdale,  the  Bap- 
tist, Christian,  Methodist,  Catholic  and  Presbyterian  all 
having  their  ov^n  buildings.  There  are  several  other  denomi- 
nations represented,  but,  v^ith  the  exception  of  the  Life  Line 
mission,  conducted  under  the  auspices  of  the  Free  Methodist 
church,  they  do  not  have  a  place  of  their  own  in  w^hich  to  meet. 

The  population  of  Armourdale  is  a  little  over  12,000.  The 
seating  capacity  of  the  largest  church  is  600,  and  the  smallest 
is  250.  The  average  is  360.  The  total  seating  capacity  of  all 
the  auditoriums  is  1,800.  Only  one-sixth  of  the  entire  popula- 
tion could  attend  church  at  the  same  time.  There  is  one  church 
for  every  2,400  persons.  Comparing  Armourdale  w^ith  Law^- 
rence,  which  has  practically  the  same  population,  there  are 
twenty-six  churches,  or  one  church  for  every  461  persons. 
Lawrence  is  "over-churched." 

The  reported  valuation  of  the  church  property,  including 
buildings,  grounds,  and  equipment  of  the  five  churches,  is 
$85,000.  Of  this  amount,  $74,000  is  invested  in  buildings  and 
grounds  and  $11,000  in  church  equipment.  Three  of  the 
churches  own  parsonages  at  a  total  value  of  $13,000.  Thus 
Armourdale  has  a  total  investment  in  church  property  of 
$98,000.    This  is  an  average  of  $8  per  person. 

The  Sunday-school  equipment  is  very  inadequate.  All  of 
the  churches  are  of  the  old  type,  and  the  class  rooms  are  very 
few.  Twenty-eight  rooms  are  reported  as  screened  off  for  the 
use  of  classes.  Future  church  building  committees  will  doubt- 
less pay  more  attention  to  the  church  architecture  which 
should  more  adequately  provide  for  the  teaching  function  of 
the  church.  Sound-proof  class  rooms,  sufficient  in  number 
for  all  the  classes  of  a  Sunday  school,  must  be  one  of  the  first 
considerations  in  future  church  building  enterprises. 

Each  of  the  churches  is  reported  as  having  fair  lighting 
facilities.  They  are  all  lighted  with  electricity.  Three  of  the 
buildings  have  pitched  floors  and  two  levels.  Each  is  heated 
by  means  of  a  furnace,  four  having  hot  air  and  one  hot  water. 
They  are  ventilated  with  windows,  with  one  exception,  in 
which  there  is  a  ventilator.  The  exits  of  the  churches  are 
such  that  they  could  be  emptied  in  two  minutes.    Toilet  facili- 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  87 

ties  were  inadequate  at  the  time  the  survey  was  made,  but  two 
of  the  churches  expected  to  install  toilets  in  the  near  future. 
All  of  the  churches  but  one,  of  which  we  have  no  report,  have 
dining  room  and  kitchen  equipment,  which  are  used  consider- 
ably in  the  social  and  recreational  life  of  the  church. 

Most  of  the  statistics  concerning  the  churches  were  given 
with  the  understanding  that  they  would  be  totaled  with  those 
of  the  other  churches  in  the  community.  That  will  account 
for  the  general  groupings.  However,  there  are  certain  data 
which  was  secured  in  the  house-to-house  canvas,  and  was 
given  unrestricted  by  the  different  people.  Out  of  1,805  fami- 
lies where  definite  data  was  secured,  we  have  the  following 
distribution : 

Church  preference  of  1,205  out  of  1,805  families: 

Families. 

Baptist 343 

Catholic   303 

Methodist 230 

Christian 156 

Presbyterian 56 

Lutheran  28 

Christian  Science 13 

18  denominations  with  10  families  or  less. 

The  total  church  membership  reported  is  2,632.  From  the 
membership  and  attendance  statistics  that  we  have,  two  strik- 
ing facts  are  noted. 

First. — With  a  resident  membership  of  1,724,  1,475  or  about 
80  percent  attend  church  regularly  on  Sunday  mornings,  and 
1,120  or  about  65  percent  attend  church  Sunday  evening.  In 
Lawrence,  Kan.,  it  is  estimated  that  only  50  percent  of  the 
church  membership  attend  on  Sundays.  The  combined  ca- 
pacity of  the  churches  is  1,800,  and  with  an  attendance  of 
1,475  at  the  morning  service  there  are  only  325  vacant  seats 
or  about  one-sixth  as  compared  with  one-half  at  Lawrence. 
The  Armourdale  churches  are  utilized  almost  to  their  capacity 
and  on  a  dollar  and  cents  basis  would  be  considered  a  good 
investment,  at  least  on  Sundays. 

Second. — The  other  striking  fact  is  that  about  three-fourths 
of  the  population  are  not  connected  with  any  of  the  church 
organizations.  Of  the  12,000  population  only  20  percent  of 
them  are  church  members,  while  the  average  in  the  United 
States  is  40  percent.  There  are  9,400  who  have  no  church  con- 
nection in  Armourdale.  From  this  one  point  the  churches  of 
Armourdale  as  compared  with  churches  in  other  communities 


88  Bulletin  of  the  University  of  Kansas. 

are  not  coming  in  contact  with  the  people  of  that  community, 
and  herein  lies  one  of  the  church  problems  of  Armourdale. 

The  churches  have  demonstrated  their  effectiveness  so  far 
as  their  membership  is  concerned,  but  what  about  the  three- 
fourths  that  have  not  been  brought  under  their  direct  in- 
fluence ?  By  the  methods  employed  the  last  two  years,  accord- 
ing to  the  reports  secured,  289  were  added  to  the  church,  or 


CATHOLIC   CHURCH. 


about  145  each  year.  Statistics  show  that  the  number  of 
deaths  in  this  community  in  1918  was  123,  and  the  number  of 
births  139,  with  practically  an  unvarying  population.  At  this 
rate,  by  the  addition  of  only  145  members  a  year  it  would  take 
a  long  time  to  reach  the  9,400  nonmembers.  It  would  seem 
necessary  to  introduce  some  new  methods. 

Last  year  the  several  pastors  reported  seventy-two  meetings 
held  in  shops  and  factories  at  which  there  was  an  average  at- 
tendance of  from  55  to  150.    At  these  meetings  religious  litera- 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  89 

ture  was  distributed.  These  meetings  will  no  doubt  prove 
helpful  in  reaching  the  men  who  have  not  been  reached  by  the 
regular  method  and  should  be  continued. 

All  the  churches  carry  on  recreational  activities.  One  church 
reports  eight  free  socials  in  1918  with  an  average  attendance 
of  150.  Another  church  reports  an  athletic  club  for  boys  and 
another  club  for  girls  and  frequent  socials.  Sunday-school 
classes  and  various  church  societies  do  considerable  in  foster- 
ing social  life  and  recreation.  Most  of  the  churches  have  an- 
nual picnics  or  excursions.  Paid  dinners  and  bazaars  are  not 
infrequent.  One  church  gives  a  card  party  occasionally  and 
has  a  dance  hall  where  the  young  people  may  dance, 

Armourdale  being  strictly  an  industrial  community,  we  be- 
lieve that  the  methods  employed  by  other  industrial  communi- 
ties would  bring  results  here  as  it  has  there.  We  refer  to  the 
daily  vacation  Bible  school.  These  schools  have  been  the  means 
of  giving  pleasurable  and  profitable  occupation  to  thousands 
of  boys  and  girls  who  would  otherwise  be  on  the  streets,  and 
into  mischief  of  all  kinds  for  the  lack  of  guidance.  Many  have 
joined  the  church  as  the  result  of  these  schools  which  last 
from  five  to  six  weeks.  These  schools  can  be  operated  at  a 
small  cost  but  with  large  results.  Night  classes  in  elementary 
courses  of  education  could  be  provided  that  would  prove  at- 
tractive to  young  men  and  women  who  were  forced  to  quit 
school  in  their  early  teens.  They  would  not  only  get  the  great 
benefit  from  the  lessons,  but  the  association  of  the  sexes  under 
proper  supervision  would  be  enjoyable  and  refining  in  its  in- 
fluences. A  part  of  the  evenings  might  be  given  over  to  games 
and  recreation.  Our  government,  and  especially  the  navy, 
demonstrated  the  value  of  community  sings,  where  thousands 
of  people  congregated  and  sang  songs,  night  after  night.  With 
a  good  song  leader  the  churches  could  be  filled  one  or  two 
nights  each  week.  "Music  soothes  the  savage  breast"  and 
would  have  a  softening  and  hallowing  influence  in  the  souls  of 
men  and  put  them  in  a  condition  to  receive  the  divine  message. 
Community  orchestras  are  proving  a  wonderful  success  and 
should  be  fostered  by  these  churches.  There  are  three  mov- 
ing picture  shows  in  Armourdale  which  are  well  patronized. 
Why  not  have  a  crowd  like  that  at  the  church  one  or  two 
nights  each  week?  Some  of  the  picture  shows  are  of  a  high 
class  and  are  helpful,  some  are  of  a  degrading  nature  and  have 


90  Bulletin  of  the  Univer^sity  of  Kansas. 

demoralizing  effect,  and  offset  the  good  work  of  the  church. 
For  the  cost  of  carriage  and  breakage  the  Extension  Division 
of  the  University  of  Kansas,  at  Lawrence,  will  be  glad  to  fur- 
nish slides  or  films  that  are  of  a  very  high  character  and  are 
educational  in  their  nature.  It  would  be  a  wholesome  sight  to 
see  people,  young  and  old,  crowding  into  the  churches  as  they 
do  at  the  picture  shows.  All  of  these  and  many  other  means 
would  form  a  point  of  contact  between  the  church  and  the 
people  and  a  great  deal  larger  percentage  of  the  community 
would  be  identified  with  the  church. 


CONCLUSIONS. 

Armourdale,  a  community  which  is  virtually  a  "city  within 
a  city,"  illustrates  two  phases  of  American  life  in  industrial 
centers. 

.  a.    The  machinery  of  industry  has  been  developed  to  its  highest  pos- 
sibilities. 

b.  The  "business  of  living"  has  been  considered  of  secondary  im- 
portance and  has  not  kept  pace  with  the  age. 

The  industrial  institutions  are  among  the  best  that  money 
and  labor  can  make  possible. 

The  social  institutions  with  but  few  exceptions  have  not  kept 
up  with  the  industrial  progress,  nor  even  with  the  activities 
and  conditions  for  social  well-being  found  in  the  rest  of  the 
city. 

1.  Population  of  Armourdale  is  of  the  best  American  stock.  Ninety 
percent  native  born,  and  over  80  percent  native  born  of  native  parents. 
They  are  of  the  people  who  "made  America." 

2.  Over  one-third  of  the  population  has  lived  here  from  10  to  40 
years.  They  are  not  transients.  This  is  their  permanent  home.  A  home 
should  have  the  best. 

3.  The  people  of  Armourdale  pay  taxes  in  the  same  proportion,  plus  a 
drainage  tax,  as  the  rest  of  Kansas  City. 

4.  The  community  has  a  very  large  percentage  of  paved  streets.  Pav- 
ing on  principal  streets  needs  repairing  and  better  method  of  cleaning. 

5.  Excellent  city  water,  but  only  44  percent  of  houses  have  water  con- 
nections. 

6.  City  }ias  excellent  sewer  systevi  hut  2,796  homes  out  of  3,126  not 
connected  with  sewer  in  Armourdale. 

7.  Death  rate  in  1918:    Kansas  City,  22.4,  Armourdale,  23.3. 

8.  Twenty-five  percent  of  deaths  in  Kansas  City  of  children  under  10. 
In  Armourdale  36  percent. 

9.  Seventy-eight  percent  of  dwellers  in  community  are  renters. 
Twenty-two  percent  own  their  homes. 


Armourdale — A  City  Within  a  City.  91 

10.  Housing  conditions  unsatisfactory.  Small  houses,  in  need  of  re- 
pairs crowded  too  closely  together. 

11.  Continual  vigilence  necessary  over  sale  of  food  and  the  careful 
handling  thereof. 

12.  Milk  situation  better  and  more  carefully  supervised  than  in  many 
smaller  communities. 

13.  Community  largely  composed  of  unskilled  laborers  and  their 
families. 

14.  Opportunity  for  labor  good.  Wages  above  that  of  most  com- 
munities. 

15.  Labor  very  largely  organized. 

16.  Kansas  has  good  labor  and  factory  laws,  which  are  well  enforced. 

17.  Very  little  community  recreation  offered.  Imperative  need  for 
greater  opportunity. 

18.  Excellent  educational  system,  but  community  needs  vacation  or 
night  schools  and  library  facilities. 

19.  Reports  of  remedial  and  corrective  agencies  favorable  to  Armour- 
dale. 

20.  Armourdale  does  not  begin  to  have  standing  room  for  its  citi- 
zens in  its  churches.  Neither  has  it  any  other  place  where  its  citizens 
may  meet  together. 

Armourdale  offers  people  who  come  there  to  dwell  a  good 
place  to  ivork,  but  not  a  good  place  to  live.  It  is  difficult  for 
those  who  live  there  to  see  to  it  that  conditions  are  changed, 
because  it  is  only  a  part  of  one  of  the  greatest  and  best  urban 
centers  in  the  United  States.  In  fact,  Kansas  City  is  such  a 
great  and  excellent  city  that  its  citizens  overlook  this  small  unit 
of  12,000  people,  largely  laborers,  who  deserve  the  best  the 
world  can  give  for  themselves  and  their  children — the  "Hope  of 
Kansas." 


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